Announcements & News

On Wednesday, July 25, AALAM is bringing you the chance to hear from the six District Attorney candidates for Suffolk County at a forum hosted by the Boston Bar Association (BBA). AALAM is proud to co-sponsor this event with the BBA, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, and the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston. The forum will present an opportunity to hear the candidates speak on matters of importance to the bar, and to gain a deeper understanding of their positions on a variety of issues as we approach the election this fall. The forum is scheduled to run from 5:00pm-6:30pm.

RSVP

WHEN: Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 5pm

WHERE: Boston Bar Association, 16 Beacon Street, Boston

WHO:

Moderator: Professor Daniel Medwed
University Distinguished Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University School of Law

Evandro Carvalho 
Massachusetts State Representative (D – 5th Suffolk) 
Former Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office 

Linda Champion
Assistant General Counsel, Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
Former Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office 

Greg Henning 
Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office

Mike Maloney
Maloney Law

Shannon McAuliffe 
Former Director, Roca, Inc. 
Former Trial Attorney, Committee for Public Counsel Services 

Rachael Rollins
Former Chief Legal Counsel, Massachusetts Port Authority Former General Counsel, MBTA and MassDOT
Former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts

AALAM Joins 62 APA Bar Associations in Supreme Court Amicus Brief Challenging President’s Third Muslim and Refugee Ban

The Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM) joined the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and 61 affiliated national and local Asian Pacific American bar associations in filing an amicus brief in Trump v. State of Hawai`i (No. 17-965), to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 25, 2018. Together these Asian Pacific American bar associations urged the Court to support the injunction of President Trump’s Sept. 24, 2017, revised executive order barring refugees and individuals from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

“The Asian Pacific American legal community has once again said that the President’s actions are discriminatory and unlawful,” said NAPABA President Pankit J. Doshi. “Lower courts from across of the country have repeatedly upheld injunctions on all three versions of the ban. NAPABA has argued in each of those cases that the ban violates key principles of our laws and harkens back to an era of invidious discrimination our country has rejected. Today, we again bring forward the consensus of the Asian Pacific American legal community urging the Supreme Court to uphold the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and reject discrimination under the color of law.”

The Trump Administration’s appeals in this case, State of Hawaii v. Trump, arises from the legal challenges to the third revised executive order, which was announced in Sept. 2017 and set to take effect Oct. 18, 2017. On Oct. 17, 2017, Judge Derrick K. Watson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii granted the temporary restraining order. The Ninth Circuit upheld the injunction on Dec. 22, 2017. NAPABA, whom AALAM is an affiliate of, filed amicus briefs in both courts.

The amicus brief describes decades of statutory exclusion of citizens of Asian and Pacific Island countries under early U.S. immigration law, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 — the first federal law to ban a group of people on the basis of their race. The Civil Rights Era marked a dramatic turning point that saw Congress dismantle nationality-based discrimination with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The brief explains that presidential discretion in the area of immigration and refugee admission, while broad, is limited by statute. The bar associations argue that President Trump’s revised order, with its anti-Muslim underpinnings, violates the unambiguous prohibition on discrimination established by Congress.

A related challenge exists in International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump. Judge Theodore K. Chuang of the U.S. District Court of Maryland enjoined the visa ban on Oct. 17, 2017. The Fourth Circuit upheld his ruling on Feb. 15, 2018. NAPABA filed amicus briefs in support of the injunction in both courts. 

NAPABA opposed earlier iterations of the executive order, including submitting amicus briefs at the District, Circuit, and Supreme Court level.

AALAM recognizes lead pro bono counsel, James W. Kim, a NAPABA member and partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, in Washington, D.C.; Mr. Kim’s team (including Cathy Zeman Scheineson, Matthew M. Girgenti, and Llewelyn M. Engel); NAPABA Amicus Committee co-chairs, Professor Radha Pathak of Whittier Law School and Albert Giang, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP in Los Angeles; and NAPABA Civil Rights Committee Co-Chair Meredith Higashi for their leadership drafting the brief, as well as recognizes the NAPABA staff for their efforts.

AALAM was joined on this Supreme Court amicus brief by 62 affiliated Asian Pacific American bar associations. A full listing of signatories includes:

• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Arizona Asian American Bar Association
• Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago 
• Asian American Bar Association of Houston
• Asian American Bar Association of Kansas City
• Asian American Bar Association of New York
• Asian American Bar Association of Ohio
• Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
• Asian American Criminal Trial Lawyers Association
• Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts
• Asian Bar Association of Washington
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Central Ohio 
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Maryland
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Solano County
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Tampa Bay
• Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey
• Asian Pacific American Lawyers of the Inland Empire
• Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento
• California Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Charlotte Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Chinese American Bar Association of Greater Chicago
• Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Federation of Asian Canadians – Ontario
• Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago
• Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York
• Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego
• Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
• Filipino Lawyers of Washington
• Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association
• Japanese American Bar Association
• Korean American Bar Association of Chicago 
• Korean American Bar Association of DC 
• Korean American Bar Association of Northern California
• Korean American Bar Association of San Diego
• Korean American Bar Association of Southern California
• Korean American Bar Association of Washington
• Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York
• Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Missouri Asian-American Bar Association
• NAPABA Hawaii Chapter
• National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys
• National Filipino American Lawyers Association
• Orange County Asian American Bar Association
• Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Oregon Filipino American Lawyers Association
• Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego
• Philippine American Bar Association
• Sacramento Filipino American Lawyers Association
• South Asian Bar Association - Southern California
• South Asian Bar Association of Chicago
• South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
• South Asian Bar Association of San Diego
• South Asian Bar Association of Washington
• Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association
• Taiwanese American Lawyers Association
• Thai American Bar Association
• Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California
• Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California

AALAM congratulates new judge Tejal Mehta, who recently won unanimous confirmation to a seat on the Concord District Court bench. The Governor's Council voted 8-0 to approve Mehta, a week after the panel held a hearing on her nomination.  Judge Mehta has been in private practice in Woburn since 2016 and previously worked as a Middlesex County prosecutor for about a decade. “She has everything that we look for,” Councilor Marilyn Devaney said before the vote. “She has probably more experience in her tenure as a lawyer than people who have been there 25 years.”

AALAM is committed to increasing the diversity of the judiciary within the Commonwealth and encourages those interested to apply.  AALAM offers support and resources during the application and confirmation process for those interested in a judgeship.

The Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM), and ten other bar associations and community organizations (see full list below), strongly condemn the recent offensive, racist, and insensitive conduct of WEEI sports-talk radio host Christian Fauria on his last Friday’s program (2/9/18) wherein he mocked sports agent Don Yee, the agent for NFL players Tom Brady and Jimmy Garappolo, by imitating him using a racially stereotyped, over-the-top Asian accent.

Such behavior was not only hateful, ill-conceived and repugnant, but also perpetuates ignorant, inaccurate stereotypes about Asian Americans.  This was not only an insult to Don Yee (who is U.S.-born and speaks English without an accent), but it also belittles all Asian Americans and minorities despite their accomplishments.

While AALAM appreciates that Fauria has personally apologized to Don Yee for his conduct, and that WEEI timely responded to criticism by issuing a 5-day suspension to Fauria and mandated sensitivity training for its employees, this is not the first time WEEI hosts have used disparaging and derogatory language during their radio shows.  We call upon management and the larger community to take more proactive steps to ensure that WEEI and its employees reflect the values of inclusion, acceptance and mutual respect of their diverse audience.

To that end, AALAM applauds the recent actions of City of Boston Credit Union, Comcast Corp., Citizens Bank, the MA State Lottery Commission, and the MA Health Connector in suspending their advertising on WEEI following the Fauria incident.

As an affinity bar association, we stand firmly against divisive, racist and discriminatory behavior in all its forms.  We urge WEEI and the sports and media community to stand tall with us to make clear that there is no place for racism in our community.

Other bar associations and community organizations signing-on to this statement include:

• -       Massachusetts Bar Association
• -       Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice
• -       Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association
• -       South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston
• -       Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association
• -       Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys
• -       Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys
• -       Asian American Civic Association
• -       Asian Community Development Corporation
• -       Women’s Bar Association

The Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM) is a non-profit state-wide association of over 250 Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.

To learn more about AALAM, visit www.aalam.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@aalamlaw).

AALAM CONDEMNS WEEI HOST CHRISTIAN FAURIA’S RACIST BEHAVIOR press release - final.docx

Please join us at our 34th Anniversary Banquet on Thursday, April 12, 2017, beginning at 6:00 pm at Hei La Moon Restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown (88 Beach Street, Boston, Massachusetts).

The celebration of AALAM, including a traditional Chinese Banquet meal, will be held at Hei La Moon in Boston's Chinatown starting at 6:00 pm with a traditional lion dance.

AALAM will be awarding its Founders Award to Judge Theodore Chuang of the U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, former AALAM President and presiding judge over International Refugee Assistance Project, et al. v. Donald Trump." 

AALAM also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the AALAM scholarship, now known as the AALAM/Dow Fund Scholarship. We are now accepting applications for the law student scholarship through March 26.

For more information, please visit the banquet page here. 

Online registration will be open March 1 - March 30, 2018

The Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM) strongly condemns the recent offensive, racist, and insensitive conduct of WEEI sports-talk radio host Christian Fauria on his last Friday’s program (2/9/18) wherein he mocked sports agent Don Yee, the agent for NFL players Tom Brady and Jimmy Garappolo, by imitating him using a racially stereotyped, over-the-top Asian accent. Such behavior was not only hateful, ill-conceived and repugnant, but also perpetuates ignorant, inaccurate stereotypes about Asian Americans.  This was not only an insult to Don Yee (who is U.S.-born and speaks English without an accent), but it also belittles all Asian Americans and minorities despite their accomplishments.

While AALAM appreciates that Fauria has personally apologized to Don Yee for his conduct and that WEEI timely responded to criticism by issuing a 5-day suspension to Fauria, this is not the first time WEEI hosts have used disparaging and derogatory language during their radio shows and we call upon management and the larger community to take steps to ensure that WEEI and its employees reflect the values of inclusion, acceptance and mutual respect of their diverse audience.

To that end, AALAM applauds the recent actions of City of Boston Credit Union, Comcast Corp., Citizens Bank, MA State Lottery Commission, and the MA Health Connector in suspending their advertising on WEEI following the Fauria incident and encourages other advertisers and contributors to follow suit.

As an affinity bar association, we stand firmly against divisive, racist and discriminatory behavior in all its forms.  We urge WEEI and the sports and media community to stand tall with us to make clear that there is no place for racism in our community.

AALAM is now accepting applications to the 20th annual AALAM/Dow Fund Scholarship. Please visit the applications page for more information.

The Asian-American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM) in conjunction with the Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund (Dow Fund) is pleased to announce that for the 20th annual AALAM/Dow Fund Scholarship a total amount of $5,000 will be awarded to one law student for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Important Dates:

Application Period: February 1, 2018 - March 26, 2018

Application Due Date: March 26, 2018

Committee and Board Review: March 26, 2018 - March 30, 2018

AALAM Banquet: April 12, 2018 (attendance required)

Dow Dinner: December 7, 2018 (attendance required)

Please join AALAM for its lunar new year party, hosted at Proskauer Rose LLP on Monday, February 26, 6-8 pm.

This year, AALAM is celebrating the lunar new year with a special request that AALAM members help some of the neediest amongst us.

Ricesticks and Tea, the only Asian food pantry in the Greater Boston area, is an emergency food pantry program that delivers culturally-appropriate food (noodles, jasmine rice, Chinese vegetables) together with other food from the Greater Boston Food Bank, of which RST is a member agency. Each month, RST delivers food to over 100 households, reaching almost 300 elders, adults and children. The average annual income of a single-person elderly client household of RST is about $9,000.  That means that RST clients invariably suffer from the lack of adequate food. Unfortunately, in recent years, food costs have risen dramatically, particularly the cost of rice, which means that more households are going hungry, and RST is short on funds and may face issues with staying open.

RST is unique in that it has been a completely volunteer-run food pantry program, run by a small group of committed volunteers. AALAM has had a long standing relationship with RST. Many AALAM members have volunteered at and held leadership roles within this monthly emergency food pantry program over the years, some volunteering for over 10 years.

To get RST back on track, RST steering committee member and past AALAM President, Rebecca A. Lee, and AALAM have each committed to match up to $5,000 in donations by AALAM members to Ricesticks and Tea during the month of February. This means that if AALAM members in the aggregate contribute at least $5,000, AALAM itself will power up those donations with $5,000 and Rebecca A. Lee will also match those funds with an additional $5,000, so your donations will have triple impact.

Please give generously – RST’s food budget is $2,800/month.  Let’s raise enough to ensure the survival of this crucial resource for Boston area Asian American families.

You can contribute by check made payable to Ricesticks and Tea/AACA, Box 120681, Boston, MA  02111 or online at www.ricesticksandtea.org. Please note “AALAM match” on your check or on-line, so we can ensure your funds are matched by Rebecca and AALAM.

Thank you for participating in this special lunar new year’s donation drive.

Best regards,

AALAM - Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts

More information and online registration is available here: AALAM Lunar New Year Party