AABA Law Foundation Newsletter – Fall 2015

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Donate Now!
• AABA Scholarship Applications Open
• AABA/California Bar Foundation 3L Diversity Scholarship
  
• AABA Public Interest Fellow Chriselle Raguro
• Spotlight on Foundation Board Member Celia Lee

 

DONATE NOW!

For nearly 30 years, the AABA Law Foundation has provided scholarships and grants to law students committed to the Asian Pacific American community.  In March 2015, the Foundation awarded $20,000 in scholarships and, through a $10,000 matching grant from the Nassiri & Jung Foundation, awarded an additional $20,000 as a public interest grant to API Legal Outreach (APILO).

We invite all members of AABA and the legal community to DONATE to the AABA Law Foundation.

This year, the Nassiri & Jung Foundation has made another generous $10,000 matching grant to help us raise $40,000 for a public interest grant to be awarded at AABA’s 40th Anniversary Dinner on March 18, 2016.  We know you have many worthy causes to support, but we hope you’ll consider giving a tax deductible donation to support the next generation of law students and attorneys.  All donors will be recognized in the AABA Dinner program booklet.

Presentation of AABA / Nassiri & Jung Grant to APILO. L to R: Charles Jung, Minette Kwok, Victor Hwang

AABA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS OPEN

AABA and the AABA Law Foundation are now accepting applications for the 2015 AABA Law Foundation scholarships, which includes the Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. Family Scholarship; the Joe Morozumi Scholarship; the AABA Law Foundation Scholarship; the Asian Pacific American Judges Scholarship and the new California  Bar Foundation 3L Fellowship, Applications are due on January 15, 2016, and scholarships will be awarded at the AABA 40th Anniversary Dinner on March 18, 2016.  Applications are available here.

All current law students are eligible to apply.  Selection criteria include community service or public interest work for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community or other underrepresented communities; demonstrated leadership in the APA community; demonstrated financial need; and commitment to the Bay Area.  If you have any questions, please contact miriam.kim@mto.com.

2015 AABA Scholarship Winners and Presenters L to R: Judge Cynthia Lie, Judge Roberta Hayashi, Duc Luu (Asia Pacific Fund), Chriselle Raguro, Kristina Pham, Jason Siu, Jasleen Singh, Miriam Kim

AABA/CALIFORNIA BAR FOUNDATION 3L DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

AABA has partnered with the State Bar of Californai Bar Foundation to offer a $5,000 scholarship to cover bar exam prep, a Barbri course and a $1,000 living stipend for a 3L student committed to community service or public interest work for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community or other underrepresented communities; demonstrated leadership in the APA community; demonstrated financial need; and commitment to the Northern California Bay Area. Applications will be available on December 10th on the State Bar website.  

 AABA PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOW 
CHRISELLE RAGURO

Helping Filipino and Other Immigrants Thrive and Live with Dignity

 

Chriselle Raguro is AABA’s 2015-2016 Nassiri & Jung/AABA Public Interest Grant Fellow at the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO). As an active student member of the Asian American Bar Association (AABA), Chriselle received the Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. Family Scholarship, which is administered by the AABA Law Foundation.

Founded in 1975, APILO is a community based, social justice organization serving the Asian and Pacific Islander, and other communities of the Greater Bay Area.  “Chriselle just started in September and has already hit the ground running in our domestic violence, trafficking, and immigration projects,” commented Victor Hwang, director of APILO.  “She has an amazing background and is also active in AABA as part of its Civil Rights Committee.”

Chriselle was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was in high school.  Her parents’ courage to leave everything behind to start a new life helped her family to navigate a foreign social framework.  The struggle of being an immigrant inspired her to pursue a career in social justice to help others with similar backgrounds.  While attending Golden Gate University, Chriselle interned with various organizations in the Bay Area and abroad, including the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic, Jesuit Refugee Services, and the Philippine Embassy in Thailand.  She served as the Co-President of the Pilipino American Law Society and as an organizer of Connect, a pre-law school seminar for minority students.  

“Being the AABA Public Interest Fellow with APILO allows me to make meaningful contributions to the Filipino and immigrant communities in various areas of the law,” states Chriselle.  “I have been inspired by the passion of my colleagues at APILO who fight for social justice every day.  Most importantly, my clients inspire me to stand up for their rights. “ 

Since beginning her fellowship, Chriselle has been able to represent clients in court in domestic violence restraining order hearings.  She says that the AABA Public Interest Fellowship has enabled her to transform her clients into more confident and hopeful people.  “Empowering my clients to make their own decisions about their legal rights is the most important skill that I have learned through this fellowship.  I also learned that my role as an attorney is to be partner to my clients,” says Chriselle.  “I hope to learn more about the social and legal issues facing immigrant communities in the Bay Area.  The AABA Public Interest Fellowship with APILO will better prepare me to combat these issues and to help immigrants thrive and live with dignity in the U.S.”

 

SPOTLIGHT ON FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBER
CELIA LEE

Goldfarb & Lipman LLP
AABA Past President
AABA Law Foundation Board Member

The AABA Law Foundation welcomes AABA Past President Celia Lee as one of its newest additions to the Foundation Board.   Celia brings an impressive array of expertise and involvement in AABA.  Joining AABA in 1995, she first served on the Community Service Committee and the Judiciary Committee, and eventually served as co-chairs of both committees.  Celia proceeded to the board, and held every officer position (secretary, treasurer, and vice president) before serving as AABA president from 2008-2009.

Currently Celia is a member of the litigation team at Goldfarb Lipman LLP in Oakland.  The firm focuses on real estate, land use, community economic development, affordable housing, employment and municipal law.   Celia represents non-profit affordable housing developers (as well as not-for-profit developers), public entities, and any other clients that may have involvement in real estate/land use/affordable housing issues.  Previously, she worked for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office for many years, litigating housing/public safety and other municipal matters for the City and County of San Francisco, and for two other private law firms.

A graduate of U.C. Berkeley (B.A.) and the University of Michigan Law School, Celia was all too familiar with the financial challenges facing students.  At the University of Michigan, law school tuition alone was over $20,000 in the early 1990s.   Celia likes to joke that Michigan Law School was an early adopter of the extremely expensive public law school tuition model.  Celia financed her legal education through loans and savings from the job she held during college.  She also received a fellowship in the summer of 1992, which enabled her to work for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (now known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles), focusing on legal aid and community relations after the civil unrest that swept Los Angeles after the acquittals of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King.

Due in large part to her experience, Celia is passionate about serving on the AABA Law Foundation Board to help ease the financial strain on law students seeking to work in the public interest and serve their community.  Celia looks forward to working with other members of the Board as they make plans for the upcoming year and consider fresh ideas to inspire people to donate.  “The opportunity to stay abreast of the wonderful ideas and projects in which the younger members of our community (students and lawyers in the initial stage of practice) are engaged is what inspired me to become a member of the Foundation Board.  Also, with my friend and former fellow AABA Board colleague Chris Noma serving as President of the Foundation, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity to work with her again!”