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• AALAM Book Club: No-No Boy by John Okada

  • Start
    Monday, May 26, 2025
  • End
    Monday, June 02, 2025
  • Spaces left
    27

  Register

  AALAM is launching the AALAM Book Club, a new way for AALAM attorneys to connect with each other through discussions about books by AAPI authors.

  Our second book will be No-No Boy by John Okada. A staple of Asian-American Literature classes nationwide, this novel has been read by generations of Asian-Americans, and remains relevant to this day. A brief synopsis:

  "No-No Boy has the honor of being the very first Japanese American novel," writes novelist Ruth Ozeki in her new foreword to John Okada’s classic of Asian American literature. First published in 1956, No-No Boy was virtually ignored by a public eager to put World War II and the Japanese internment behind them. It was not until the mid-1970s that a new generation of Japanese American writers and scholars recognized the novel’s importance and popularized it as one of literature’s most powerful testaments to the Asian American experience.

  No-No Boy tells the story of Ichiro Yamada, a fictional version of the real-life "no-no boys." Yamada answered "no" twice in a compulsory government questionnaire as to whether he would serve in the armed forces and swear loyalty to the United States. Unwilling to pledge himself to the country that interned him and his family, Ichiro earns two years in prison and the hostility of his family and community when he returns home to Seattle. As Ozeki writes, Ichiro’s "obsessive, tormented" voice subverts Japanese postwar "model-minority" stereotypes, showing a fractured community and one man’s "threnody of guilt, rage, and blame as he tries to negotiate his reentry into a shattered world.

  If you are interested in receiving a copy of this book for the book club, please sign up here by Monday June 2nd. https://aalam.wildapricot.org/event-6206254

  Members of AALAM can sign-up for $5 and Non-Members for $10. This fee goes towards us shipping a brand new copy of the book to your door.

  As part of the Book Club, there will be one ~1 hour virtual book discussion with AALAM members. As part of the Book Club, there will be one ~1 hour virtual book discussion with AALAM members. The discussion will likely be in late August, so you will have over two months to read the book. If you're looking to get your summer reading starting, sign up!

  Discussion questions will be sent out in advance to facilitate discussion. Upon signing up, you must provide your correct address so we can send the book to your address. Please double check before submitting.

  Please only sign-up for a book if you plan on attending the virtual AALAM discussion.

  Note that we understand this is a popular book, so you might not need a new copy. We will send a link to coordinate the virtual discussion to all of AALAM, so those who have read the book before can join in the discussion.

  If you have any questions, please email Celene Chen at celene.chen@cooley.com

  
  

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• Behind the Scenes: Leadership Within Government

  • When
    Tuesday, June 03, 2025
  •  
    5:30 PM - 7:00 PM (EDT)

  Register

  Join AALAM for an inspiring evening featuring a distinguished panel of AAPI leaders making an impact at the highest levels of government. This panel event offers a rare opportunity to hear firsthand from trailblazing public servants about their career journeys, leadership insights, and the challenges and triumphs of serving the public while navigating identity and representation.

  Our panel includes:

  • Connie Wong, Deputy Commissioner for Labor Relations, Human Resources & Legal Affairs at the Boston Fire Department
  • Cyndi Mark, Chief of the Public Protection & Advocacy Bureau at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
  • Gina Kwon, Undersecretary for Law Enforcement, Executive Office of Public Safety & Security
  • Mary H. Nguyen, Chief of the Insurance & Unemployment Fraud Division at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office

  We welcome all members of the legal community and those interested in public service to attend. Networking session to follow the panel. Light refreshments and appetizers will be served. 

  
  

  
  

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• 2025 Annual Banquet

  • When
    Thursday, June 12, 2025
  •  
    5:30 PM - 11:00 PM (EDT)
  • Location
    China Pearl, 9 Tyler Street, Boston
  • Spaces left
    76

  Register

  AALAM is delighted to invite you to join us on Thursday, June 12, 2025 for AALAM’s 2025 Annual Banquet, beginning with a cocktail hour at 5:30 pm followed by dinner promptly starting at 6:30 pm at China Pearl located at 9 Tyler Street, Boston.

  We are excited to be returning to Boston’s Chinatown for a traditional 10 course Chinese banquet dinner and look forward to celebrating with you the legacy and accomplishments of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) legal community in Massachusetts.

  AALAM has a proud 40+ year history of commitment and service to the AAPI and legal communities. We are immensely proud of our many members and allies who dedicate countless hours to serve as leaders and mentors for all practitioners. We are especially honored to recognize this year’s award recipients for their professional achievements, integrity and dedicated service. AALAM will be presenting the 2025 AALAM Founders Award to Chinh Pham of Greenberg Traurig, the 2025 AALAM Community Service Award to Peggy Ho of Commonwealth Financial, and the 2025 AALAM Ally of the Year Award to Ropes & Gray LLP. We will also recognize the law student recipient of the 28th Annual AALAM/ Dow Fund Scholarship Award. 

  We hope that you will join us for this evening of celebration, which will also include for the first time an official afterparty immediately following the dinner, complete with music, karaoke and other entertainment! Proceeds from AALAM’s 2025 Annual Banquet will help fund AALAM’s inclusive programming and initiatives throughout the year, including networking and professional development opportunities, charitable donations and sponsorships for community and legal organizations, and scholarships for law students aspiring to enter public service. We would very much welcome your support this year, now more than ever.

  We deeply appreciate your continued support of AALAM’s 2025 Annual Banquet and our continuing efforts to build an even greater and more inclusive legal community in Massachusetts.

  In case of any questions and/or cancellations and/or if you have any dietary restrictions, email aalam.banquet@gmail.com!

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