News

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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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Dennis Wu
March 3, 2014	E-MAIL: denniswu@maddenjones.com

Los Angeles, CA, March 3, 2014 - On February 28, 2014, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County ("APABA") celebrated its sixteenth anniversary installation dinner before a sold-out crowd at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Hosted by Emmy-winning sports anchor, James Koh, approximately 365 attorneys, judicial officers, law students, legal professionals, and community leaders were in attendance as APABA honored retired Justice Kathryn Doi Todd, California Court of Appeal, and Commissioner Cynthia Loo, Mariposa County Superior Court, two pioneers in the Asian Pacific American legal community, with its Public Service Award. Judge Halim Dhanidina, Los Angeles County Superior Court, installed the 2013-2014 officers and board of governors of APABA at the event. APABA Public Interest Fellow, Mike Hyun Lee, also shared how APABA's 2013 Public Interest Fellowship supported his work at the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education.

"The gala was a great success, sponsored by over thirty local law firms, bar associations, community groups, and local businesses," said Dennis Wu, APABA's President. "APABA is thrilled by this outpouring of support, and we look forward to giving back to our members and our local communities for the new year and beyond."

Congresswoman Judy Chu introduced the evening's keynote speaker, Frank Wu, Chancellor and Dean of the University of California, Hastings College of Law, whose speech on his experience with racial inequality as a youth in Detroit and the tragedy of Vincent Chin resonated with many of those in the audience. "All of us are different. There are many Asian American experiences, not a single one. Yet we also are bound together by a set of common themes," Chancellor Wu observed. "To claim our own identities, to write the scripts of our lives, not bound by stereotypes, is to realize the best of this diverse democracy. It makes good on the ideals of freedom and liberty that brought our parents and grandparents, 'strangers from a different shore,' to this new world."


APABA's events and activities include legal clinics, continuing legal education seminars, community forums, networking receptions, and various programs for law students, including a public interest fellowship award. APABA works closely with APAWLA, JABA, KABA, PABA, SABA, SCCLA, TABA, and other minority bar associations to promote diversity on the bench and in the legal profession and to speak out on issues of importance to minority communities. To join or learn more about APABA, please visit www.apaba.org.

Please click here for a PDF version of this press release.

On January 8, 2014, APABA hosted an informative panel discussion on how to apply to and serve on State Bar Committees. The Honorable Holly Fujie moderated a panel of esteemed individuals including:

• Luis Rodriguez (President, California State Bar Board of Trustees; Los Angeles Office of the Public Defender)
• Craig Holden (Vice President, California State Bar Board of Trustees; Partner, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP)
• Cynthia Loo (Chair, California State Bar Council on Access and Fairness; Judicial Officer, Los Angeles Superior Court)
• Jason P. Lee (Vice Chair, Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation; Attorney, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission)
• Gretchen Nelson (Former Member, California State Bar Board of Trustees; Partner, Kreindler & Kreindler LLP)

A reception honoring State Bar President Luis Rodriguez followed the panel discussion. Mr. Rodriguez's achievements as a community leader and an advocate for justice include serving as president of the Mexican American Bar Association of the Los Angeles County, president of the California La Raza Lawyers Association, president of the Latino Public Defenders Association, member of the California State Board of Education, and chairman of the State Bar of California' Council on Access and Fairness. He currently serves as the first Latino president of the State Bar of California. The event was co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance, John M. Langston Bar Association, Japanese American Bar Association, Korean American Bar Association, Latina Lawyers Bar Association, Philipine American Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association, and Southwestern Law School's Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and Latino Law Student Association.

For more information on how to apply to serve on State Bar Committees, please click here.

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 2014.

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 position in a nonprofit or governmental public interest organization that serves the Asian Pacific American community in Los Angeles County for at least a 10-week period during the summer. The law student must be supervised by a licensed attorney. Working for a public defender, district attorney, or a judge does not qualify.

For more information, please download the APABA Fellowship Application. All materials must be e-mailed by 5:00 pm on April 18, 2014 for consideration. 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. The Fellowship award will be announced in late May 2014. Please send all inquiries with the subject line "APABA Fellowship" to apabalawstudentscommittee@gmail.com.

APABA, APAWLA, JABA, KABA, SABA, and SCCLA (the "Sponsoring Bar Associations") are pleased to offer a limited number of travel scholarships to law student members to attend the 2013 NAPABA Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Applicants must be current law students and members of one or more of the Sponsoring Bar Associations as of the application deadline, which is Sunday, October 6, 2013, 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, 2013 Scholarship Committee Chair, edlew.apaba@gmail.com. Please indicate "2013 NAPABA Travel Scholarship" in the email's subject line.