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AABANY Second Quarter 2013 Report: May through July

In the second quarter of 2013, AABANY continued its theme of “Making an Impact” by

providing its members and members of the legal and APA communities with programming that

proved to be meaningful, educational, and engaging. Together with community partners,

sponsors, and peer organizations, AABANY helped celebrate APA History Month, garnered 7

awards or recognitions for its members, held 7 special events, organized 14 panels or CLEs,

participated in 8 community education and outreach programs, and held 6 professional and social

networking events.

Asian Pacific American History Month

May 1, 2013 AABANY President Mike Huang was published in the New York Law Journal’s

special edition for Law Day, which coincided with the start of APA History Month. In his

article, “Asian Americans Find a Voice Within the Law,” Mike observed that “the indifference

toward Asian American equality is a result of our having been classified under the rubric of the

‘model minority’ and thus viewed as achieving success by keeping our heads down and working

hard. But Asian Americans have not achieved the success and equality that we are perceived to

have reached, particularly in the legal profession.” The full article is available at bit.ly/pres_nylj.

May 3, 2013 AABANY joined and promoted Asia Society’s “Celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage

Month,” for an evening of free museum tours, live jazz, specialty cocktails, Korean street food,

and discounted shopping.

May 8, 2013 AABANY and AALDEF co-sponsored a screening of "Patsy Mink: Ahead of the

Majority," the award-winning documentary about the first woman of color and of APA descent

to be elected to Congress, where Ms. Mink went on to co-author Title IX, which required gender

equity in education and athletics. The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session and

warm reception at the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

May 8, 2013 AABANY congratulated Glenn Lau-Kee, guest speaker at the Diversity Speaker

Series at Kramer Levin, presented by the firm in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage

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Month. Kramer Levin hosted a discussion with Mr. Lau-Kee, who will assume the position of

President of NYSBA in June 2014.

May 9, 2013 AABANY launched the spring issue of its quarterly

newsletter, The AABANY Advocate. This edition, available at

http://bit.ly/advocate_sprng2013, included articles on the 24th Annual

Dinner, a wedding proposal involving a couple who had met at the

23rd Annual Dinner, and AABANY sponsor White & Case LLP. The

newsletter also included profiles on the Hon. Lorna G. Schofield

(SDNY) and the Hon. Pamela K. Chen (EDNY), both of whom

AABANY’s Judiciary Committee endorsed and supported through the

nominations and confirmations process; and Immigration and Nationality Law Committee Co-

Chair and Founding Partner of Guerrero Yee LLP, Tsui Yee, who received the National Minority

Business Council’s “Outstanding Woman Entrepreneurship Award” for 2013.

May 18, 2013 The Coalition of Asian Pacific

Americans hosted its 34th Annual Asian American

and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival, the longest

running pan-Asian festival on the East

Coast. Concerts, dance performances, presentations,

martial arts, taiko drums demos, and outdoor

activities. AABANY volunteers, including board

members and officers, committee chairs, and members, ran a booth at the day-long event held at

Confucius Plaza in Manhattan Chinatown, chatting with members of the community and

distributing issues of AABANY’s quarterly newsletter and 2012 year-end report.

Awards and Recognitions

May 24, 2013 AABANY President Mike Huang, Partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, was

featured in the New York Law Journal article, “Meet the Affinity Bar Group Presidents.” The

article also made note of AABANY’s other Officers.

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May 24, 2013 AABANY Immigration and Nationality Law Committee Co-Chair Tsui Yee,

Partner at Guerrero Yee LLP, was interviewed by Chinese-language daily newspaper The Epoch

Times on the hot topic of comprehensive immigration reform. Tsui discussed the scope and

likely impact of the reform, as well as the most common immigration issues facing the Chinese

community today. She also provided suggestions on how individuals can prepare for the reform

if enacted into law.

May 24, 2013 AABANY Immediate Past President Jean Lee, Vice President and Assistant

General Counsel at JP Morgan Chase, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Minority

Corporate Counsel Association (“MCCA”). The MCCA was founded in 1997 to advance the

hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse attorneys in legal departments and the law firms that

serve them. Longtime AABANY member and Advisory Committee member Don Liu,

Corporate Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Xerox Corporation, is also a

member of the MCCA Board of Directors.

June 14, 2013 The Hon. Pamela K. Chen, the newest

United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District

of New York, was inducted in a joyous and extremely

entertaining investiture ceremony. Who would have

imagined that lawyers and judges — especially Chief

Judge Carol Bagley Amon — had such wonderful

senses of humor. Senator Charles Schumer, who

submitted Pamela Chen’s name for judicial nomination, was on hand to present remarks. Many

attendees stayed after the ceremony for the reception, which featured an array of delicious Asian

cuisine and was hosted by Judge Chen and her partner Amy Chester. AABANY proudly

supported Judge Chen’s nomination and we are gratified that she has joined the prodigious bench

of the Eastern District of New York. We wish her an illustrious and rewarding tenure as a

Federal court judge.

June 17, 2013 Rio Guerrero, Partner at Guerrero Yee LLP and AABANY Immigration and

Nationality Law Committee’s Co-Chair, was published in the Spring Edition of Minority Trial

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Lawyer, a publication of the ABA’s Litigation Section. Rio explained how the Supreme Court’s

resolution of the same-sex marriage debate may lead to increased immigration from same-sex

couples in the article entitled, “If DOMA Falls, Immigration will Rise.”

July 16, 2013 The New York Law Journal covered

the AABANY re-enactment of the Heart Mountain

trials presented on July 11 at Cadwalader,

Wickersham & Taft LLP (see Special Events Section

below). The Heart Mountain trials helped inform and

educate the public about important civil rights and

social justice issues in American history raised by

Asian Americans and their experience.

Special Events

May 16-17, 2013 AABANY and the Asian

American Arts Alliance (a4) presented, "Iva: The

Myth of Tokyo Rose, Allegiance on Trial," at the

Asia Society. “Tokyo Rose” was a fully staged

theatrical production inspired by the life and trial of

Iva Toguri, a Japanese American citizen accused of

treason for allegedly broadcasting anti-American

propaganda during WWII as the infamous "Tokyo

Rose."

The world premiere on May 16 played to a

full house, followed by a stimulating

talkback led by the Hon. Denny Chin which

included Kathy Hirata Chin, Partner at

Cadwalader, and Gurjot Kaur, Staff

Attorney at the Sikh Coalition. Many

audience members stayed for the reception

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that took place afterwards at the Leo Bar upstairs from the auditorium at Asia Society. The May

17 matinee performance also played to a full house, with many students from New York City’s

schools in attendance. The talkback afterwards was led by Andrea Louie, Executive Director of

the Alliance, and included Soriya Chum, the playwright and co-director of the production, Elena

Chang, co-director and general manager, Yang Chen, Executive Director of AABANY, Rehana

Mirza, from Ma-Yi Theater’s Writer’s Lab, and Eileen Rivera, from Leviathan Lab.

Both performances played to enthusiastic and engaged audiences from New York’s diverse

communities.

June 13, 2013 The Asian American Law Fund of

New York (AALFNY), formerly the AABANY

Foundation and AABANY's 501(c)(3) affiliate, had

its annual Summer Reception fundraiser this year at

Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP. Glenn Lau-Kee,

past AABANY President and current NYSBA

President-elect, was the special honoree. In June

2014, Glenn will take his place as the first Asian American President of NYSBA.

Also honored that evening were the recipients of AALFNY’s Community Service Scholarship

Awards, who this year were: Lucy Zhang, a student at Duke University School of Law (Class of

2015) and intern with New York Legal Assistance Group’s Total Life Choices department, and

Mieon Han, a student at Fordham Law School (Class of 2014) and intern with MinKwon Center

for Community Action. Nabila Taj, intern at Queens Legal Services, received this year’s

AALFNY SABANY Public Interest Fellowship. Also in attendance were many interns from this

year’s class of the Joint Minority Bar Judicial Internship Program (JMB JIP), co-sponsored by

AALFNY, AABANY, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, Black Bar Association of Bronx

County, Puerto Rican Bar Association and SABANY.

June 18, 2013 AABANY In-House Counsel and

Corporate Law Committees co-sponsored AABANY’s

6th Annual Wine Tasting & Networking Reception, at

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Inside Park at St. Bart’s. This year’s event was highly successful, with over 125 people in

attendance, including in-house attorneys from 46 organizations, such as AIG, BBC, Hess, JP

Morgan Chase, Prudential and Xerox. The In-House Counsel Committee is comprised of current

in-house lawyers and the Corporate Law Committee is comprised of current and prospective

corporate law firm attorneys.

June 19, 2013 The AABANY Prosecutors’

Committee celebrated its fifth year anniversary at

NYCLA with over 130 people in attendance. U.S.

Attorney Preet Bharara (SDNY), District Attorneys

Robert Johnson (Bronx), Daniel Donovan

(Richmond), Kathleen Rice (Nassau), Cyrus Vance,

Jr. (New York), and Special Narcotics Prosecutor

Bridget Brennan (New York) were on hand to join in the festivities at which trailblazing judges

the Hon. Lorna Schofield (SDNY) and the Hon. Pamela Chen (EDNY) were also honored. The

Committee is comprised of current and former state and federal prosecutors. This highly

successful event was co-sponsored with the Federal Courts Committee of NYCLA.

July 11, 2013 AABANY members presented “Heart Mountain: Conscience, Loyalty and the

Constitution” at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. “Heart Mountain” is a reenactment of

the historic World War II case of the 63 Japanese-American draft resisters who were interned at

Heart Mountain in Wyoming and refused to report for U.S. military service. They were willing

to fight for their country, but only after their rights as citizens were restored. The program was

presented by a team of AABANY members, which included Cadwalader Partner Kathy Hirata

Chin and Special Counsel Lauren U.Y. Lee. The group develops and performs re-enactments of

important moments in Asian American legal history, which are first performed at the annual

NAPABA convention in November. The Hon. Denny Chin, Judge for the United States Court of

Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Hon. Kiyo Matsumoto, Judge for the United States

District Court for the Eastern District of New York, also participated in the evening’s program.

This program offered attendees 1.5 CLE credits and was free of charge.

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July 24, 2013 AABANY co-sponsored New York’s premiere of “Linsanity,” the feature

documentary about NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. The film was the Opening Night Presentation of

the 36th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), hosted by Asian

CineVision at the Asia Society. Director Evan Jackson Leong and producers Christopher Chen,

Allen Lu, and Brian Yang attended the premiere and participated in a follow-up Q&A session led

by ESPN sportswriter and columnist Pablo S. Torre. AABANY secured a limited number of

tickets to the Opening Night and offered its members an exclusive opportunity to bid on the

tickets, with proceeds in excess of cost donated by AABANY to AALFNY.

July 26, 2013 Registration opened for the 2013 NAPABA Northeast Regional/AABANY Fall

Conference. The event will be held on September 21 at Weil Gotshal and will feature a full day

of CLE programs, including the Trial Advocacy Program, an in-house counsel forum, a judicial

forum and Law Firm Pitch Sessions. At the end of the day, there will be a cocktail reception,

followed by Committee dinners and an after-party. It will be a very full day, and we are looking

forward to hosting attendees from NAPABA’s affiliates in the northeast.

Panels and CLEs

May 1, 2013 The New York Chapter of the American Constitution Society, The Hispanic

National Bar Association, and AABANY co-sponsored an immigration reform panel entitled,

“Comprehensive Immigration Reform: What is the Plan? What Works and What Doesn’t? Will

the Bill Pass?” Panelists included AABANY Immigration and Nationality Law Committee Co-

Chair Rio Guerrero, founding Partner of Guerrero Yee LLP.

May 14, 2013 AABANY's Corporate Law Committee and Arnold & Porter LLP presented a

CLE program entitled "The Government's Increased Focus on Insider Trading in the Private

Fund Industry," which took place at Arnold & Porter's offices in New York. Speakers Lily Lu

and Susan Shin, Partners at Arnold & Porter, brought different perspectives and varied

experience on insider trading investigations by the SEC.

May 15, 2013 AABANY co-sponsored a CLE entitled "Intellectual Property Considerations in

China: Doing Deals & Enforcing your Rights" at the New York City Bar. Panelists Jennifer

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Choe Groves, Ping Gu, Phillip Hirschhorn, Ethan Lee, and Dr. James Zhu, discussed

enforcement of IP rights in China, as well as recent changes in Chinese law.

May 16, 2013 AABANY co-sponsored a CLE program, "Starting Your Own Practice in New

York,” hosted by the New York State Bar Association. Attendees enjoyed one full day of

informative panels that ranged from “Starting Your Own Law Practice: The Basics” to

“Marketing Your Solo Practice Ethically and Effectively.” Panelists discussed how to start a law

practice and how to determine the right legal specialty. Panelists also provided suggestions on

how attendees could increase their list of contacts and how to handle referral business.

May 29, 2013 AABANY Young Lawyers Committee presented an interactive workshop,

"Planning for your Financial Future: An Evening with Financial Advisors,” in which attendees

learned about how to manage loans, create a spending and saving plan, and plan for buying a

home, raising a family, or retirement.

June 6, 2013 AABANY in collaboration with MinKwon Center for Community Action co-

sponsored a CLE program entitled “Naturalization and Citizenship Application Assistance.” This

CLE helped prepare AABANY members who volunteered to offer pro bono counseling to

attendees at the All-Day Citizenship Day Clinic, part of MinKwon’s Summer Pro Bono Clinics.

June 6, 2013 AABANY Intellectual Property Committee kicked off its summer with a panel on

“In-House IP Careers.” Panelists included Vernon Chu, General Counsel at BBC Worldwide

Americas, Amin Kassam, Counsel at Bloomberg LLP,

Caren Khoo, Assistant General Counsel at Verizon, and

Anwesa Paul, Privacy Counsel at American Express.

Panelists discussed how to identify in-house IP

opportunities, when to make the move, and the skills

necessary to land the job and succeed as an in-house lawyer.

June 12, 2013 AABANY Real Estate, Solo and Small Firm Practice, Immigration and

Nationality Law, and Government Service and Public Interest Committees co-sponsored a CLE

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program entitled “New York State Attorney General on Condos & Offering Plans: the

Requirements.” Panelists included Marissa Piesman, Chief of the Real Estate Finance Bureau at

the Office of New York State Attorney General, Lewis A. Polishook, Chief Counsel for Real

Estate Finance at the Office of the New York State Attorney General, and Katherine J. Hwang,

Assistant Attorney General in the Enforcement Section of the Real Estate Finance Bureau at the

Office of the New York State Attorney General.

June 24, 2013 AABANY co-sponsored a CLE program entitled “Recurring Issues of a Foreign

Purchaser in New York City.” Panelist included Jerry Glassman, Partner of Real Estate Services

at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP, Todd Hedgepeth, Director of Baker Tilly’s International

Tax Group, Wendy Cai-Lee, Senior Managing Director and Head of U.S. Eastern Region at East

West Bank, Margaret T. Ling, Senior Counsel at Summit Associates, and Pauline Yeung-Ha,

Partner at Grimaldi & Yeung LLP.

June 26, 2013 AABANY Academic Committee held a program entitled, “Paths to Law

Teaching.” The program was aimed at law students and practitioners interested in pursuing a

career in teaching law and curious about how the job market has changed in recent years.

Panelists included Elaine Chiu, Professor of Law at St. John’s University School of Law, David

Han, Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering at NYU Law School, and Jim Park, Associate

Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School.

July 11, 2013 The Commercial Bankruptcy/Restructuring

and Intellectual Property Committees co-sponsored a

CLE program entitled “Intellectual Property Issues in

Bankruptcy.” Panelists discussed how bankruptcy and

intellectual property law can frequently intersect as shown

in recent large bankruptcy cases. The evening began with

an overview of Bankruptcy Code section 365, followed

by a discussion of emerging and unresolved issues in bankruptcy treatment of intellectual

property. Speakers included Alan Halperin, Founding partner at Halperin Battaglia Raicht LLP,

Michael Lynch, Partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, and Daniel Lowenthal, Partner at

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Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Commercial Bankruptcy/Restructuring Committee Co-

Chair Vincent Roldan, Of Counsel at Vandenberg & Feliu LLP, moderated.

July 17, 2013 The Litigation Committee

organized a workshop entitled “Deposition

Bootcamp II,” back by popular demand after its

successful debut last year. Panelists included

Vincent T. Chang, Partner at Wollmuth Maher &

Deutsch LLP, James P. Chou, Senior Counsel at

Akin Gump Hauer Strauss & Feld LLP, Tristan C.

Loanzon, Founding Partner at Loanzon Sheikh

LLC, Yasuhiro Saito, Principal Attorney at Saito Law Group, William Wang, Partner at Lee

Anav Chung White & Kim LLP, and James S. Yu, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Participants

engaged in a mock deposition and received feedback and suggestions. The panelists and

AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen served as witnesses and provided on-point critiques

and advice. The CLE was well attended and a great success.

July 18, 2013 Shearman & Sterling LLP, AABANY, KALAGNY, and SABANY co-hosted a

Résumé Review Workshop for Law Students. Current 2L and 3L students in New York City

attended the workshop and received comments and advice from seasoned attorneys on how to

beef up, scale down and polish their résumés.

July 31, 2013 As a follow-up to the July18 Résumé Review Workshop, AABANY and

KALAGNY will collaborate on a Mock Interview Workshop for Law Students. This workshop is

designed to teach students effective interview skills tailored to the legal profession. Attendees

get to participate in practice interviews and will benefit from feedback given by practicing

attorneys.

Community Education and Outreach

May 15, 2013 AABANY co-sponsored a reception for LGBT and South Asian Lawyers at

Shearman & Sterling LLP. AALDEF gave a special presentation on Asian American Support

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for Same-Sex Marriage. Attendees also had the opportunity to donate to a scholarship fund for

students who wished to attend the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance conference.

May 19, 2013 Tsui Yee, Co-Chair of

the Immigration and Nationality Law

Committee, emceed “Community

Briefing: The Immigration Reform

Debate” at the Museum of Chinese in

America (MOCA) in Chinatown.

Hosted by OCA-NY and Chinese

Progressive Association and co-

sponsored by AABANY as well as

many APA Community Stakeholders, the briefing informed the Asian American community

about the proposed changes to overhaul the immigration system and discussed ways that the

community can impact comprehensive immigration reform before it becomes final. Featured

speakers included Elizabeth R. OuYang, NY Chapter President of OCA-Asian Pacific American

Advocates, May Chen, Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and Mae Lee,

Executive Director of Chinese Progressive Association.

May 19, 2013 With a team organized by the Young Lawyers Committee, AABANY participated

in AIDS Walk in New York City. Participants helped raise funds and awareness in the struggle

to find a cure for HIV/AIDS.

May 20, 2013 AABANY joined the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and

supporters at "Growing Numbers, Growing Impact: Mayoral Candidates Forum on Asian Pacific

Americans.” Over 500 community members gathered at this event to listen to the Mayoral

Candidates address key issues affecting the APA communities, such as civic engagement,

economic development, education, health, housing, immigration, and social services. Richard

Lui, NBC and MSNBC News Anchor, moderated the forum.

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June 6, 2013 AABANY joined several other bar

associations to co-sponsor “An Evening with the

New York City Mayoral Candidates" at the New

York City Bar. The event started shortly after 6:00

PM with the first hour devoted to Republican and

Independent candidates: Adolfo Carrion Jr. was the

Independent and the Republican candidates in

attendance were Joseph Lhota, John Catsimatidis

and George McDonald. The next hour was dedicated to the Democratic candidates: Sal

Albanese, Bill de Blasio, John Liu and Bill Thompson. Errol Louis of NY1 moderated. It was

an informative and engaging forum, and we thank New York City Bar for hosting it and MBBA

and Network of Bar Leaders for bringing the bar groups together. AABANY live tweeted from

the event and its tweets got several re-tweets from the candidates.

June 7, 2013 AABANY took part in the 10th

Anniversary

Caren Aronowitz Unity in Diversity Celebration at the New

York State Supreme Court Rotunda. AABANY provided

samples of Chinese Dim Sum from one of oldest tea parlors in

Chinatown, Nom Wah, to courthouse workers and members of

the surrounding community..

June 8, 2013 AABANY, in collaboration with the MinKwon Center, held an all day pro bono

immigration clinic. Volunteers offered interpreting service and legal advice on immigration to

visitors of the clinic.

July 20, 2013 Members of the Young Lawyers Committee

participated in a restoration project for Habitat for

Humanity. The team worked through the summer heat wave

to remove damaged basement drywall and landscape a

private community yard located in Brooklyn, New York.

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July 29, 2013 Tsui Yee, AABANY’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee co-chair,

spoke on an LGBT Immigration CLE panel. Panelists gave an in-depth discussion of the specific

impact of the United States Supreme Court’s Windsor decision on the LGBT Community. In

addition, the panelists provided practitioners from all practice areas with the basics of green card

applications.

Networking

May 9, 2013 The Litigation Committee celebrated its first Happy Hour of 2013 at The Stag’s

Head in midtown on the East Side. After the rain cleared, a group of loyal and enthusiastic

members, both old and new, straggled in and enjoyed an evening of friendly banter. It was a

good way to spend a beautiful spring evening in Midtown.

May 23, 2013 The Government Service and Public Interest Committee held its first meeting of

the year. Co-chairs Karen Yau and Yujin Hong welcomed members and discussed the

committee’s calendar of events for 2013. The group also engaged in a candid and thoughtful

discussion about the committee’s purpose and goals.

May 31, 2013 AABANY’s Membership Committee presented the second of its Get to Know

AABANY Happy Hours, this time featuring the Corporate Law, Young Lawyers and Student

Outreach Committees. More than 70 attendees gathered at K2 Lounge in the Rubin Museum of

Art. Apart from mixing, mingling and networking

with fellow AABANY members and friends,

guests got to enjoy the Himalayan and Buddhist

art collection at the museum, music provided by a

live DJ, delicious finger foods and 2-for-1 drink

specials. It was a great way to wrap up APA

Heritage Month and a wonderful wind-down to a

busy week. All who attended enjoyed the space,

the surroundings and the good company.

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June 5, 2013 The In-House Counsel and Women’s

Committee held a unique networking event at Drive495

entitled “Tee Off Your Business Network,” designed for

women attorneys interested in the professional and

social benefits of golf. “Tee Off” drew attorneys from

law firms, solo practices, and companies, including AIG

Inc., the Chinese-American Planning Council Inc.,

Empire State Development, Fortress Investment Group,

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, MetLife, New York

Liquidation Bureau, the Rockefeller Group, Time Inc., and Verizon Wireless. Also in attendance

were representatives from Elisa Dreier Reporting Corp., who helped sponsor the event.

July 9, 2013 AABANY held its annual Summer

Reception at Kenyon & Kenyon LPP. Our gracious

host was John Flock, a Partner at the firm and

AABANY President in 1999. Attendees networked

while enjoying the magnificent views of lower

Manhattan and New York Bay from the firm’s

outdoor terrace. Immediately following the

reception, AABANY held its July Board Meeting at the firm.

July 25, 2013 AABANY held a mid-summer happy hour at the

Ainsworth in the Chelsea neighborhood for its mentors and mentees

in the Mentorship Program. Mentees had an opportunity to catch up

with their mentors and network with fellow colleagues. Attendees

included those who were interested in learning more about the

Mentorship Program from Julie Kwon, Coordinator of the

Mentorship Program, and from participants in this year’s program.

The opening of registration for the 2013-14 Mentorship Program was

announced on July 23.