News

APABA is pleased to announce that it will award a Public Interest Fellowship in the amount of $5,000 to one deserving law student during the summer of 2016.

The APABA Fellowship will be awarded to a law student who demonstrates leadership potential, maturity and responsibility, as well as a commitment to making a contribution to the APIA community. The law student must find a summer position (of at least 10 weeks) in a nonprofit or governmental public interest organization that serves Los Angeles County's Asian Pacific American community. The law student must be supervised by a licensed attorney. Positions at a public defender, district attorney or judge's office do not qualify for the Fellowship.

For more information, please download the APABA Fellowship Application. All applications and supporting materials must be submitted via email by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 6, 2016. Finalists may be interviewed by one or more members of the APABA Fellowship Committee. The recipient of the Fellowship will be selected by the APABA Fellowship Committee, with the approval of the Board of Governors, and will be announced in late May 2016. Please send all inquiries with the subject line "APABA Fellowship" to the APABA Law Students Committee.

APABA, APAWLA, JABA, KABA, SABA, and SCCLA (pending) are pleased to offer a limited number of travel scholarships to law student members to attend the 2015 NAPABA Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Applicants must be current law students and members of one or more of the Sponsoring Bar Associations as of the application deadline, which is Friday, October 2, 2015, at 8 pm Pacific Time. Applicants must also request funding from their law schools. Please see the Scholarship Application for additional details and requirements.

Email completed applications with resumes and/or questions to: Ed Lew, 2015 Scholarship Committee Chair, edlew.apaba@gmail.com. Please indicate "2015 NAPABA Travel Scholarship" in the email's subject line.

APABA is pleased to offer its third annual Bar Review Course Scholarship, generously sponsored by Kaplan Bar Review. Scholarship recipients will receive a Complete Bar Review course redeemable in any state and any modality in which Kaplan offers Bar Review courses. The value of the 2015 California Live Course is $3,995.00.

The Bar Review Course Scholarship will be awarded to two graduating 3L law students based on need, academic accomplishments, leadership potential, and commitment to making a contribution to the APIA community of Los Angeles County. Please see the scholarship application for instructions on how to apply.

All application materials must be submitted via email to apabaprofessionaldevelopment@gmail.com by 5:00 pm on October 8, 2015. The Scholarship recipients will be announced on October 15, 2015.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Nisha Vyas
E-MAIL: nisha.vyas@gmail.com

Los Angeles, CA, August 29, 2015 – The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County (APABA) condemns the use of the derogatory term “anchor babies” by lawmakers and those who seek public office. Whether directed toward Asian Pacific Americans, Latinos, or any other ethnic group, the use of this demeaning term is deeply disrespectful to immigrants and natural born United States citizens alike, and harmful to any productive civic conversation about citizenship and immigration reform.

“We need a constructive debate about immigration that acknowledges and honors the immeasurable and crucial contributions that immigrants have made to our shared American history and culture. Offensive terms have no place in that debate," said Judy Suwatanapongched, APABA’s President.

APABA opposes any attempt to roll back settled constitutional law on immigration and citizenship that has helped make this country great. In fact, Asian Pacific Americans played a pivotal role in deciding and settling this issue. In the case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court ruled that a man born in San Francisco must be recognized as a citizen, despite the fact that his parents had emigrated from China and were excluded by federal law from becoming United States citizens themselves. The United States Supreme Court confirmed the constitutionally-enshrined right to birthright citizenship, stating that that the 14th Amendment of our Constitution “affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth.”

Instead of inflammatory race-based rhetoric and fear-mongering, APABA urges American leaders to discuss productive ways in which we can make our immigration system more fair, just and inclusive.

The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County is a nonpartisan member organization comprised of attorneys, judges and law students throughout Los Angeles County. It is a voice for issues of concern to the Asian Pacific American community. APABA provides legal education and assistance to underserved communities and sponsors programs in professional development, community education and law student mentorship.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Billy Sung
E-MAIL: williamcsung@gmail.com

Los Angeles, CA, August 26, 2015 – The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles (“APABA”) applauds Committee Member Jason P. Lee’s appointment to the California State Bar Board of Trustees.  Mr. Lee will be sworn in at the State Bar's Annual Meeting this October and will serve a three-year term.

Mr. Lee is Senior Counsel with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division and Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force in Los Angeles, specializing in securities litigation, regulation, and enforcement.  He is also a member of the Commission's Diversity Council, which is charged with creating and implementing strategies to increase diversity throughout the agency. 

Mr. Lee is actively involved in bar and bar association activities. He currently serves on APABA’s Public Appointments & Judicial Endorsements Committee and previously served on the State Bar of California's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation (“JNE”), including one year as chair of the commission.  “We cannot think of a more qualified candidate to serve on the Board of Trustees.  Jason will surely bring the same enthusiasm and dedication to this position that he has to our committee,” said Christina Yang, Co-Chair of APABA’s Public Appointments and Judicial Endorsements Committee. “We were so happy to have him recently rejoin us after finishing his JNE term, and we are currently working closely together on establishing an APABA judicial pipeline project, meant to identity potential judicial candidates of Asian descent, and to support these candidates in the application and vetting process.”

Mr. Lee has also served as a board member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area and co-chair of its Judiciary Committee, and on the pro bono lawyer panel for Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus as lead counsel on a number of immigration matters.  Mr. Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law, and a Master of Laws, with distinction, in Securities and Financial Regulations from Georgetown University Law Center.

The State Bar’s governing board, the Board of Trustees, meets approximately eight times a year to consider organizational, policy and professional issue.  The State Bar Board of Trustees consists of nineteen members: five attorney members appointed by the Supreme Court; six attorney members elected from the six State Bar Districts; two attorney members appointed by the Legislature; and six "public" or nonlawyer members.

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Monterey Park, California -- A community legal clinic run by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County (APABA) will significantly expand its efforts to help Monterey Park residents through new partnerships with two legal services groups -- Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.

"Advancing Justice - LA and Neighborhood Legal Services have decades of experience serving low-income communities," said Deborah Yao, APABA's Executive Vice President. "We are thrilled to partner with them as our legal clinic -- the only community legal clinic in Monterey Park -- grows in size and reputation."

Advancing Justice - LA will focus on handling workers' rights cases. "This exciting partnership reflects of our respective organizations' longstanding commitment to meet the communities' varied legal needs," noted John Trang, staff attorney at Advancing Justice - LA.

With an office in the nearby city of El Monte, Neighborhood Legal Services will serve as the primary legal aid referral source for low-income clinic participants who need more extensive assistance on issues such as health and government benefits, housing, and immigration. "Nearly 80 percent of residents in Monterey Park speak a language other than English at home and 15 percent live below the poverty line," said Neal Dudovitz, Executive Director of Neighborhood Legal Services. "This new partnership allows us to improve our advocacy to reduce the effects of poverty in our communities."

APABA has provided valuable legal services to low-income residents of Los Angeles County since February 13, 2013. Every month at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library, volunteer attorneys and law students give free, in-language legal information and assistance in the areas of criminal law, civil matters, employment and workplace disputes, estate planning, family law, government and health benefits, and immigration. Services are provided in Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, and English.

The APABA community legal clinic is held on the second Tuesday of each month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library (Friends Room upstairs), 318 Ramona Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91754. Volunteers are matched with a clinic participant and help with intake and provide information in response to myriad legal issues in the areas of family law, estate planning, criminal law, civil matters, labor & employment, government benefits, and immigration. To volunteer, please RSVP at http://apaba.org/event-1859804. If you are interested in joining our clinic planning committee and/or have any questions, please e-mail Deborah Yao at outreachapabala@gmail.com. If you cannot make it to the clinic but would be available to consult via telephone, please email us your name, telephone, and area of specialty/expertise.

APABA is pleased to announce that it will award a Public Interest Fellowship in the amount of $5,000 to one deserving law student during the summer of 2015.

The APABA Fellowship will be awarded to a law student who demonstrates leadership potential, maturity and responsibility, as well as a commitment to making a contribution to the APIA community. The law student must find a summer position (of at least 10 weeks) in a nonprofit or governmental public interest organization that serves Los Angeles County's Asian Pacific American community. The law student must be supervised by a licensed attorney. Positions at a public defender, district attorney or judge's office do not qualify for the Fellowship.

For more information, please download the APABA Fellowship Application. All application materials must be submitted via email by 5:00 pm on Friday, April 17, 2015. Finalists may be interviewed by one or more members of the APABA Fellowship Committee (if determined to be necessary). The recipient of the Fellowship will be selected by the APABA Fellowship Committee, with the approval of the Board of Governors, and will be announced in late May 2015. Please send all inquiries with the subject line "APABA Fellowship" to apabalawstudentscommittee@gmail.com.

APABA, APAWLA, JABA, KABA, PABA, SABA, and SCCLA are pleased to offer a limited number of travel scholarships to law student members to attend the 2014 NAPABA Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Applicants must be current law students and members of one or more of the sponsoring bar associations as of the application deadline, which is Friday, October 3, 2014, at 8 pm Pacific Time. Applicants must also request funding from their law schools. Please see the Scholarship Application for additional details and requirements.

Email completed applications with resumes and/or questions to: Ed Lew, 2014 Scholarship Committee Chair, edlew.apaba@gmail.com. Please indicate "2014 NAPABA Travel Scholarship" in the email's subject line.

APABA is pleased to offer its second Bar Review Course Scholarship, generously sponsored by Kaplan Bar Review. Kaplan's Complete Bar Review course is redeemable in any state and in any modality in which Kaplan offers Bar Review courses. The value of the 2015 California Live Course is $4,285.00.

The Bar Review Course Scholarship will be awarded to one graduating 3L law student based on need, academic accomplishments, leadership potential, and commitment to making a contribution to the APIA community. Please see the scholarship application for instructions on how to apply.

All application materials must be submitted via email to apabaprofessionaldevelopment@gmail.com by 5:00 pm on October 5, 2014. The Scholarship award recipient will be announced on October 15, 2014.

APABA is pleased to announce its first Bar Review Course Scholarship, generously sponsored by Kaplan Bar Review.  The Kaplan Bar Review Complete Bar Review course is redeemable in any state and in any modality in which Kaplan offers Bar Review courses.  The value of the 2014 California Live Course is $4,285.00. 

The Bar Review Course Scholarship will be awarded to one graduating 3L law student based on need, academic accomplishments, leadership potential, and commitment to making a contribution to the APIA community.  Please see the scholarship application for instructions on how to apply. 

All materials must be emailed to apabaprofessionaldevelopment@gmail.com by 5:00 pm on April 30, 2014.  The Scholarship award will be announced on May 5, 2014.