AABANY Pro Bono Legal Clinic | Photo courtesy of AABANY
NEW YORK – Pro Bono legal clinics, organized by the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) Pro Bono and Community Services Committee (PBCS), will resume their first in-person clinic at Bensonhurst, Brooklyn on August 27, 2022, from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn (UCA), located at 1787 Stillwell Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11223. This service is AABANY’s first at this location since the pandemic lockdown.
The Brooklyn Clinic, which will serve the community twice a month, is available to assist New Yorkers with legal questions in various fields of law, including housing, employment, labor, and matrimony. According to AABANY, interpreters will be available during the one-on-one consultations with volunteer attorneys.
AABANY and its community-based organization partners and elected officials promoted the pro bono clinic and its initiatives during a press conference at UCA on August 15, 2022. They presented the Hate Eradication Active Response Team (“HEART”), the Legal Referral and Information Service (“LRIS”), and AABANY’s reports on anti-Asian violence, A Rising Tide of Hate and Violence Against Asian Americans in New York During COVID-19: Impact, Causes, Solutions, and Endless Tide: The Continuing Struggle to Overcome Anti-Asian Hate in New York.
Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate, among others, noted the importance of ensuring that underserved community members gain ready access to legal services resources.
The Pro Bono Legal Clinics opened in 2015 to serve members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who have limited English proficiency to have meaningful access to justice and lack access to reliable information about the legal process and available legal resources. In collaboration with community organizations, AABANY said these clinics are run entirely by members of AABANY who are lawyers, law students, and interpreters volunteering their time. AABANY said volunteers assist in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner for the AAPI and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) community can understand their rights and available remedies.
“As a not-for-profit organization of attorneys and legal professionals of AAPI descent in New York, AABANY has been advocating for and representing the interests of not just AAPIs in the legal profession but of the larger AAPI community as well,” said Yang Chen, Executive Director of AABANY. “Our award-winning Pro Bono Clinics have been actively serving the AAPI and LEP community since 2015, including with remote operations during the pandemic.”
Added Chen: “With dedicated attorney volunteers drawn from our membership, we look forward to providing free legal advice and information. We thank UCA for hosting the Clinic and all the community groups and elected officials who are supporting the Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic.”
Chen said AABANY is exploring collaboration opportunities with other community partners in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens to provide legal assistance to the community. It also seeks volunteers to work on its future projects to continue assisting needy communities.
Individuals who need legal assistance may call UCA at (718) 232-0055 to make appointments. For more information about the Pro Bono Legal Clinic, contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (646) 653-2168 or direct any inquiries to main@aabany.org.
