Announcements & News

***STIPEND DEADLINE ONE MONTH AWAY*** Stipend Applications | Deadline: March 22 The deadline for Lobby Day stipend applications is one month away! Stipend applications are available for NAPABA direct members traveling to Lobby Day from out of town. The stipend application can be found on the Lobby Day registration form. Not a NAPABA member? Become a member today! Register for Lobby Day | Deadline: April 12 Join NAPABA for Lobby Day 2017, which will be held in Washington, D.C., from May 22-23. This event is an opportunity for NAPABA members from across the country to educate members of Congress and congressional staffers on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American community. Lobby Day also give members an active role in promoting NAPABA's mission of advocating for justice, equity, and opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans.  Participants will meet with legislators and voice their perspectives on a range of topics. Help us make this year's Lobby Day as impactful as last year's where over 100 NAPABA members from across the nation registered and 67 meetings were attended. For more information and to register for Lobby Day, visit our website. Leadership Workshop | Deadline: April 12 Following Lobby Day, NAPABA is hosting a day-long leadership workshop for our direct members. Please see below for more details.  May 24 | Washington, D.C. Register for the Leadership Workshop | Deadline: April 12 NAPABA is proud to partner with Ascend, a national non-profit organization for Asian Pacific American business professionals, to offer lawyers — whether in-house, law firm, government, public interest, or academia — a day-long leadership training program on May 24, 2017, in Washington, D.C., following Lobby Day. This pilot program seeks to empower mid- to senior-level NAPABA members with the leadership tools necessary to reach and succeed at the highest levels of profession. To learn more about the Leadership Workshop and to apply, click here.  Book Your Hotel for Both Events! Book a Hotel | Deadline: April 21 NAPABA has secured a room block through Hyatt Place Washington, D.C./U.S. Capital. Whether you are attending one or both of the events above, book your hotel through NAPABA at a special rate of $239/night. Taxes and fees are applicable.

The Call for Programs for the Northeast Regional Conference is now open! If you would like to submit a program for the Northeast Regional Conference on September 9, 2017, please complete the Call for Programs form attached or available online here. The deadline to submit a program proposal is March 1, 2017, 5 p.m. EST. Please direct any questions to neregional@apaba-pa.org.

Greetings!  The Board of Student Advisers at Harvard Law School would like to invite you to serve as a judge for the 2017 1L Ames Moot Court Program.

In the 1L Ames program, first-year students brief and argue a fictional appellate case.  Every 1L student participates in an oral argument judged by a three-member panel, ideally comprised of one practitioner, one faculty member, and one upper-level student.  Judges probe the legal logic of participants’ briefs and prompt students to articulate their arguments.

Practitioner judges provide a tremendous benefit to first-year students by giving constructive criticism based on their real world experience.  In addition, judging 1L Ames provides an opportunity to connect with students as they consider future job opportunities.

This year’s 1L Ames program will be held April 3rd through 6th, with arguments beginning at 7:15pm and 8:30pm each night.

By late March, judges will be sent copies of the students’ briefs, the appellate record, a comprehensive bench memo with sample questions, and feedback forms to help students improve.  During the 1L Ames program, dinner will be provided to judges before the first argument each evening, starting at 6:00pm.

If you are interested in judging, please register by completing the Harvard Ames Moot Court Judge Sign-Up Form.  Brief descriptions of this year’s cases are included on the next page.  For our planning purposes, we request that you please respond by Monday, March 6th.

 More information about the 1L Ames Moot Court Program can be found on our website.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Richard Schwartz, our 1L Ames Moot Court Program Director, at rschwartz@jd17.law.harvard.edu or (781) 956-2039. 

 We hope to see you in April!

2017 First-Year Ames Case Descriptions

 

Beckett v. Wingate Rifle Co.: presents a question of first impression for the Nevada Supreme Court, which must decide whether a gun manufacturer may be held liable for the wrongful deaths of those shot with the manufacturer’s high-powered weapon.  The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant, but the plaintiffs, on appeal, have pressed their theories of negligence in the marketing and distribution of Wingate’s weapon.  Wingate hopes to persuade the Court that it should adopt the majority rule against imposing special common law duties on gun manufacturers.  Appellants, meanwhile, will need to convince the Court that summary judgment was inappropriate, and that the principles of tort law and public policy are on their side.

United States v. Hark:  This case presents several appellate issues stemming from Archibald “Archie” Hark’s conviction for distributing more than 100 grams of heroin.  After the jury delivered its verdict at trial, Hark moved for acquittal on the basis that federal drug enforcement officials, including Agent Paul Lopez, had induced him to deal the drugs and that, therefore, he was entrapped as a matter of law.  Three days after trial, Hark moved separately for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence—several affidavits casting Agent Lopez’s testimony into doubt.  The district court denied both motions.  On appeal, Hark hopes to persuade the Ninth Circuit that the district court erred in rejecting his motion for acquittal for entrapment as a matter of law and in refusing to grant him a new trial.  The Government must persuade the court that the lower court was correct in both its rulings.

Weston v. Good TV, Inc.:  Sally Weston, a 13-year-old girl, cut off two of her fingers while attempting to slaughter a chicken as a contestant on Good TV’s newest reality show, Kid Nation.  Weston then sued Good TV for damages, and in the process attempted to disaffirm the liability waiver she and her mother were required to sign for Weston to participate in the show.  The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant.  On appeal, Weston hopes to convince the California Court of Appeals that she successfully disaffirmed the liability waiver or that the waiver was invalid as a matter of public policy.  She also hopes to persuade the Court that she was not an employee of Good TV and thus that Good TV’s liability is not limited by California’s workers’ compensation regime.  Good TV, by contrast, must persuade the Court that summary judgment on all issues should be upheld.

Smith v. The Daily Muckraker, Inc.:  The Plaintiff, James Smith, is a public school teacher and the Head of the English Department at North Ames High School.  After the Defendant, The Daily Muckraker, Inc., published an online article claiming Smith, among other things, had a criminal history and plagiarized his master’s thesis, Smith filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Ames, invoking the court’s diversity jurisdiction.  The Muckraker answered by filing a Special Motion to Dismiss under the State of Ames’s Anti-SLAPP Act, which, if applicable, would shift the burden to Smith to prove that he is likely to succeed on the merits.  The first issue on appeal is whether the district court was correct when it held that the Ames Anti-SLAPP Act is a substantive law under the Erie framework and therefore applicable in this diversity suit.  The second issue is, assuming that the Anti-SLAPP Act allows The Muckraker to file a Special Motion to Dismiss in federal court, whether the case should be dismissed on the ground that Smith is a “public official” who has not alleged that The Muckraker acted with actual malice.

In light of recent executive orders signed by President Trump, we joined NAPABA's and SABA's Statement Condemning the President's Exclusion of Refugees and his "Muslim Ban"  and voted and endorsed the Massachusetts Bar Association's new Resolution on Immigration. 

We have also created a new webpage on Immigration Resources so that we can share any appropriate resources and information.

If you would like to share any resources with other AALAM members, please contact Vatsady Sivongxay, the Chair of our Community Concerns committee.  Her contact information and that of the other board members and officers is available to AALAM members who have signed in at this link.

AALAM Joins NAPABA's and SABA's Statement Condemning the President's Exclusion of Refugees and his "Muslim Ban"

AALAM proudly joins the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA) in condemning the recent executive orders signed by President Trump stopping refugee admission and creating a Muslim Ban.  As a voice for our members, many of whom are first and second generation immigrants, it is more important now than ever that we vigorously defend against encroachment on our fundamental constitutional values and discriminatory policies based on fear and intolerance that make our communities less safe.

 Here's the link to the NAPABA statement: http://www.napaba.org/?page=refugee_muslim_ban

On Thursday, January 26, 2017 AALAM, along with other affinity bar associations, proudly voted to support and endorse the MBA's new Resolution on Immigration, which reaffirmed the bar's commitment to vigorously defend the rule of law and fundamental constitutional protections related to the detention and deportation of residents of Massachusetts, and endorse actions by the federal government that ensure equal justice and due process in enforcement of any immigration policies and legislation. 

Actions endorsed include: (1) prohibiting any discriminatory immigration-related law enforcement practices, (2) precluding the use of any database established or maintained by any governmental entity to identify and locate undocumented immigrants for any detention and deportation program unrelated to protecting national security, (3) establishing, in collaboration with the Massachusetts legal community, an effective system that ensures free legal representation for all immigrants facing removal (deportation) proceedings who are unable to afford an attorney, and (4) comprehensive immigration reform legislation that provides for legal status and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with strong ties to the United States, who do not pose a national security or public safety risk, among others. 

AALAM thanks the MBA for its leadership in passing this resolution, and is committed to working with the MBA and the other affinity bars to ensure that all immigrants have access to justice.

Prudential 1L Summer Internship Program
Application Deadline | Feb. 5, 2017

Our national affiliate NAPABA is pleased to partner with Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential) to provide a meaningful summer internship opportunity for a highly-motivated first-year law student. Through this partnership, NAPABA will select one student to join the 2017 summer law intern class at Prudential for a 10-week internship at Prudential’s Newark, New Jersey, offices for a stipend of approximately $10,000.

To be eligible to apply, 1L law students must be a NAPABA member. Please note that you can become a NAPABA member for free if you are an active AALAM member.

NAPABA is accepting submissions from 1L students until Feb. 5. Submission requirements are as follows:

•  To apply, you must submit a cover letter, resume, a list of three references, and a copy of your transcript to: 

NAPABA Prudential Internship Selection Committee
c/o AuriaJoy Asaria via email at aasaria@napaba.org.   

• Applicants must indicate “Prudential Internship” in the subject line of all correspondence. 

All materials must be received by 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 5, 2017. The finalist shall be selected and notified by a Prudential HR staff member on or about March 3, 2017.

View the Prudential Internship Program description here for more information.

Call for Programs

NAPABA is excited to announce the 2017 call for programs, speakers, and plenary topics is now open! We invite all of our members to submit a program proposal and encourage you to present creative and timely legal topics in which you are passionate and experienced. If accepted, your program will be presented at the 2017 NAPABA Convention in Washington, D.C. — the largest gathering of Asian Pacific American attorneys in the country.

For more information on how to submit a program proposal, please visit our Call for Programs page. The Call for Programs will close on March 20, 2017, at 5 p.m. EDT and no late submissions will be accepted.

Call for Speakers and Speaker Database
NAPABA is looking for speakers interested in serving on a CLE panel at the 2017 NAPABA Convention. Lend your expertise and add your name to our speaker database! For more information and to join, please visit our Call for Speakers page. 

Call for Plenary Topics
Have an idea for a plenary topic? Your idea could be featured and presented during the Convention. For more information and to submit an idea, please visit our Call for Plenary Topics page.

At the Dow Fund Dinner held on December 2, 2016, AALAM presented the 2016 AALAM Community Service Award to former AALAM board member, Geoffrey G. Why, whose dedicated service to the Boston Asian community truly embodies the spirit of giving back. 

In addition, AALAM announced a new tradition of making a donation to a charity of the Community Award recipient’s choice in recognition of the recipient’s work and in hopes of inspiring future generations of lawyers to give back. 

Geoff has decided to split this $500 donation between two organizations: the Asian Community Development Corporation and the Dow Fund.  Please see below a note of thanks from Geoff.

Dear AALAM, 

First and foremost, I want to thank AALAM and its board for the 2016 Community Service Award.  I am truly honored to be recognized for my service.

I am so happy to share this award and its generous gift to two organizations that I have worked with closely.

I am a board and executive committee member of the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC).  ACDC is the leader in developing and preserving affordable housing in Greater Boston where Asian Americans, live, work, and play.  Since 1987, ACDC has built over $110 million of new mixed income, mixed-use real estate developments that are home to more than 1000 residents.

I am also a board and executive member of the Dow Fund which was established to provide resources to ensure access to the legal system for Asian Americans who are deprived of justice because of barriers such as language, race, culture, poverty, or immigration status.  Over the past 30 years, the Dow Fund has launched numerous projects, including: Anti-Asian Violence Education Project, Asian Battered Women Project, Asian Immigrant Rights Initiative, Cambodian Outreach Project, Chinatown Stabilization Project, and Community Internship.

Geoffrey G Why

Congratulations to the following individuals who were elected by the AALAM membership to serve as the officers and directors of AALAM for the 2017 membership year:

President: Eugene Ho

Vice President: Christina Chan

Secretary: Leslie Su

Treasurer: Jennifer Fang

Board of Directors: 

• Jason Chan
• Stephen Chow
• Deana Kim El-Mallawany 
• Len Ho
• Peggy Ho
• Steven Kim
• Vincent Lai
• Rachel Lee
• Tony Lu
• Daniel Park
• Michelle Rhee
• Vatsady Sivongxay
• Emily Sy 
• Melissa Wong
• Randall Yee