August 2016 Updates

Friends, the dog days of summer are coming to a close. TABA will celebrate our transition to Fall with an End-of- Summer Mixer on August 31st. We have a lot of community service programming in the pipeline.  Come hear about it over drinks and appetizers. Cheers!
 

TABA News, Events and Reminders

  1. TABA’s End-of- Summer Social will begin at 6:30 P.M. Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at Preux & Proper, 840 S Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014. We will have drink tickets, appetizers, and brief announcements. Come mingle with us! Please RSVP to our Social Chair, Tiffany Chukiat, at tchukiat@sf-lawyers.com.
  2. Friend of TABA and attorney with Inner City Law Center, Ami Nguyen, will be spearheading a series of Tenant’s Rights Community Information Sessions in and for the Thai community at the end of August. She will discuss issues related to illegal evictions, housing discrimination, and housing repairs. If you are interested in helping in this effort, please contact president@tabalawyers.org.
  3. TABA and APAWLA will offer an MCLE Training, “Nuts and Bolts of  Human Trafficking for Pro Bono Attorneys” on Monday, September 12, 2016, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The training will be lead by Kim Luu-Ng, Esq., founder and managing partner of the KLN Firm. The training will take place at the offices of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles, 1145 Wilshire Blvd. in Conference Room A. Two (2) MCLE Credits are available. Seating is limited! See flyer here for more information!
  4. TABA will host a Small Business Community Information Session on Sunday, October 2, 2016, consisting of expert panelists who will discuss various legal issues and offer advice to business owners. The event details will follow shortly. If you are interested in participating, please contact president@tabalawyers.org.
  5. TABA Elections are just around the corner! If you would like to join our Board of Governors or run for Executive Board for the 2016-2017 term, please email president@tabalawyers.org by September 1, 2016. We are eager to grow our TABA family!

Thank you to those who have renewed their Membership! It’s never too late; sign up today! The TABA 2016 Membership Form is available under the Membership Tab.

TABA in Action

We need your help! California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu invites you to participate in a nationwide survey as part of The Portrait Project, the first systematic study of Asian American experiences in the law. The Portrait Project research team — Justice Liu, Yale law professor Ian Ayres, and three Yale law students — developed their questions over the course of several months, basing them in part on the themes that emerged out of their focus group discussions with NAPABA members at last year’s NAPABA Annual Convention. Their questions probe identity, career advancement, and legal education, in addition to other subjects. Their goal is to provide a comprehensive look at the past, present, and future of Asian Americans in the legal industry. 

The survey is open until August 8, 2016 at 11:59 PM PDT, and should take an estimated 25-30 minutes. The survey can be paused at any time, so there is no need to finish the questions in one sitting. All responses are anonymized. Upon completing the survey and submitting your responses, you may choose to separately enter your name into a prize drawing for your choice of an iPad Mini 4 16GB or a Vizio 38″ 5.1 Channel Soundbar System with Wireless Subwoofer and Rear Satellite Speakers. Three winners will be selected at random. If you choose to enter the prize drawing, your name will not be associated with your responses.  

We hope that you will find the time to share your experiences and contribute your voice to the report, which will be released in time for the 2016 NAPABA Annual Convention in San Diego this November. If you are willing to participate, please fill out the survey by August 5th at this link.

On behalf of the Royal Thai Consulate – General of Los Angeles, you are cordially invited to the “Art of Thai Silk Reception & Fashion Show” at FIDM in Los Angeles on August 9, 2016 at 6.00 P.M. Please find the invitation in this link. You may also RSVP to Consul Sorasak at sorasak.samonkraisorakit@gmail.com. Further details are available in the flyer here.

Please join Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA for two special events featuring Professor Xiaoxing Xi of Temple University in Philadelphia in The Case of Professor Xiaoxing Xi: Scapegoating Immigrants as National Security Threats

Professor Xi will speak on Wednesday, August 10 in LA, and on Thursday, August 11 in OC.  In 2015, Professor Xi was arrested and charged by the U.S. government for passing sensitive technology secrets to China. His home was raided by the FBI and he was widely labeled a spy, but months later all charges against him were dropped without explanation. His case is the latest in a recent spate of wrongful prosecutions of Chinese American scientists for economic espionage.  Professor Xi is visiting Southern California to share his story as part of the “Scientists, Not Spies” campaign, which seeks an apology as well as an investigation of the U.S. Department of Justice’s prosecutions. The events will also explore a broader history of racial profiling by the U.S. government in the name of national security, ranging from wrongful espionage prosecutions of Chinese American scientists, to the profiling of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities post-9/11, and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

When: Wednesday, August 10, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Where: Advancing Justice-LA
1145 Wilshire Blvd., 1st Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90017
Street parking or self-parking for fee in hospital structure on Lucas Ave.

When: Thursday, August 11, 11:30 am – 1 pm
Where: UC Irvine, Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Room 1517
Parking $2/hr at UCI Social Science Parking Structure, 4139 Campus Drive
0.5 hour of MCLE credit (Elimination of Bias) will be provided, and a light meal will be served.

To RSVP for either of the FREE events, see flyer here. For questions, please contact Clara Chiu at cchiu@advancingjustice-la.org

TABA is a proud co-host of the 2016 Samakkee Summit!

Please consider supporting the Thai Samakkee Summit! Registration, sponsorship, and donation information is available at samakkee.org. You may also support the Summit through TABA by signing up as a volunteer or donating. (If donating, please note that the Samakkee organizers prefer a check payment to avoid high online transaction fees. Please indicate on your check (in the notes section) or online (in the remarks section) that you are donating as a TABA member/supporter). If you have any further questions, please email president@tabalawyers.org.

The Summit will be held August 26-28, 2016 in Los Angeles. The theme for this year’s Summit is “Inspiring Thai American Leadership”. The Summit features an impressive array of speakers from across the country on topics including Thai/Thai American leadership in professional organizations, arts and entertainment, academia, religion, and engaging with the political process. We will also have a training session on developing leadership. Our keynote speakers include Thai Ambassador to the U.S. Pisan Manawapat, as well as California State Treasurer and 2018 California Gubernatorial Candidate John Chiang. A karaoke fundraiser with raffle prizes will take place this Sunday, August 7, 2016, in Thai Town. Please see flyer here.

Please email samakkee2016@gmail.com with any further questions.

Save the Date! The Asian Pacific American Women Lawyer Association Presents:
Asian Pacific American Women Partners Reception
Friday, September 16, 2016
5:30 PM Registration
6:00 PM – 8:00PM Reception
Southwestern Law School

This event will honor the approximately 100 APA Women Partners in LA Law Firms. There will be food, a cash bar, and a champagne toast. It will bring attention to the great strides that APA women have made in LA law firms and celebrate their hard work and positions of power in the legal profession! For more information or sponsorship opportunity, please contact Audra Mori at amori@perkinscoie.com. TABA has one (1) complimentary admission ticket for an interested TABA member. First come, first serve. Please email president@tabalawyers.org.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The AAAJ-LA Annual Dinner will be held Thursday, October 6, 2016. If you’re interested in attending, come join TABA representatives! TABA will subsidize 25% of the ticket price for up to five (5) attendees! At this time, we only have two (2) seats left! First come, first served. Please email president@tabalawyers.org.