Vote for your board! The ballots for the 2014 APAWLA Board of Governors Elections have been mailed out to all members of record as of December 31, 2013. If you have received one, please mail back your ballot, using the included self-addressed, stamped envelope as soon as possible. If you are a member and have not received your ballot, we may still have your old mailing address. Please update your mailing address by emailing Catherine Endo Chuck at cchuck@mcbirneyhuck.com.

Renew Your Membership Today!
For those of you who need to renew your membership, now is a great time to do so! A membership application has been included with each ballot, so you can include your completed form for renewal with your ballot.

Become a Member Today!
If you haven't yet become a member of APAWLA, it's a great time to do that now as well! You can become a member by visiting our website at: apawla.org/membership

CORRECTION TO BALLOT: The ballot included Vivian Lee twice and did not mention Susan Yu. Therefore, the name of "Vivian Lee" listed on page two (2) of the ballot should read "Susan Yu," who is running for a Governor / Board Member at large.

VOTING DEADLINE: February 1, 2014

For Questions/Comments, please contact Anne Inoue at anne.inoue@agulaw.com.

You are Specially Invited to an Intimate Evening of Friendship and Exquisite Cuisine!

Please join us for an intimate, elegant evening with remarkable women:
U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee,
Alternative Public Defender Janice Fukai,
Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman,
and You!

Come for exquisite food. Come for friendship and to share. Come to be inspired.

December 2, 2013
6:30 PM

Osteria Mozza
Famed Restaurant of Mario Batali,
Featured in Gourmet Magazine
6602 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038

**SOLD OUT!**
This special dinner is limited to 30 extraordinary women.
$40 for APAWLA Life Members
$50 for Others
**SOLD OUT!**

Questions: Cynthia.Loo2012@gmail.com

Interested in sponsoring a student? Please contact Cynthia Loo at Cynthia.Loo2012@gmail.com.

National Pro Bono week is dedicated to showcasing those that make a difference to the nation, its system of justice, its communities, and most of all, to the clients they serve. In celebration of National Pro Bono week, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), along with the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance (APAWLA), the Korean American Bar Association (KABA), the Japanese American Bar Association (JABA), the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA), the Thai American Bar Association (TABA) and the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (SABA-SC) are sponsoring two CLE trainings to encourage more attorneys to help meet the dire legal needs of LAFLA's clients.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 | 6:30pm-8:30pm
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
1102 Crenshaw Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019

Cost: $10 to cover the cost of dinner

All trainees are expected to take on a pro bono case within one year - either representation at a DV restraining order hearing or an eviction defense hearing.

Unlawful Detainer/Eviction Defense Training
This 1.5-hour training will provide an overview of landlord/tenant law, procedure and defenses related to unlawful detainer proceedings, and the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance as it relates to evictions. Attorneys will have the opportunity to take on eviction defense cases and appear at trial. The volunteer commitment is approximately 30 to 50 hours. The trainer is Tamara Kinyanjul, Attorney in the Eviction Defense Unit at LAFLA.

Domestic Violence Restraining Order and VAWA Training
This 2-hour training will provide an overview of (1) the Domestic Violence Protection Act and how to represent a client at a Restraining Order hearing and (2) an overview of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) laws and how to represent a client with a VAWA petition. LAFLA assists domestic violence survivors obtain initial restraining orders. These orders are usually obtained without notice to the abuser and are in force for a short time. These hearings offer a unique opportunity for pro bono attorneys to change lives, while obtaining courtroom experience. VAWA petitions allow victims of domestic violence to obtain legal status and other benefits not normally available to them. Pro Bono attorneys will have the opportunity to assist victims with preparing the VAWA petitions which normally do not require a court appearance. The average volunteer time commitment for DV cases is about 10 to 20 hours during a one to one-and-a-half-month period. The average volunteer time commitment for VAWA cases is 30 to 50 hours during a one-year period. The trainers of this session are Ann Kim and Joann Lee, who are attorneys in the API Unit of LAFLA.

LAFLA is the oldest and one of the largest frontline law firms for more than 2 million poor and low-income people in the greater Los Angeles area. For over 80 years, LAFLA has been providing civil legal services to poor and low-income people through its six neighborhood offices, three Domestic Violence Clinics and four Self-Help Legal Access Centers. LAFLA is the first place that thousands of poor people turn to when they need legal assistance for a crisis that threatens their shelter, health and livelihood. Nearly 12,000 individuals and families are provided with legal services annually and an additional 35,000 litigants are helped through LAFLA's four Self-Help Legal Access Centers. Another 20,000 are assisted through referrals, workshops and community outreach activities.

Click the image above to download the full flyer.

Join us for our Annual Luau celebration! Enjoy some delicious Hawaiian food and some great Hawaiian music.

Saturday, September 28, 2013 | 6:00 PM
Back Home in Lahaina
519 E. Carson Street
Carson, CA
http://www.backhomeinlahaina.com/

Featured Entertainment: Jason Arimoto
Originally from Hawaii, Los Angeles-based Jason Arimoto, also known on YouTube as "facemeltingukulele," is a two-time winner of the Ukulele Underground Award for Best Vocal Performance of the Year. He has attracted a following for his blues ukulele covers of Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing and John Mayer's Gravity. His original music blends his island roots with reggae and blues, with soulful vocals combining with a bluesy ukulele tone. Jason performs weekly at Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach, California.

Prices
$75 for early birds (end: 9/21/2013)
$80 regular price and at-the-door
$35 for students
$25 for kids 7 to 12 years old
Free for kids 6 years old or younger
To purchase tickets, just click on the PayPal button below! Please purchase one ticket at a time and include the attendee's name before clicking "Buy Now."

Become a Sponsor!
- Platinum: $2,000 (10 seats w/ full page ad in program booklet)
- Gold: $1,000 (5 seats w/ half-page ad)
- Silver: $500 (2 seats w/ quarter-page ad)
(Ad Deadline: Sat., Sept. 7th, 2013 - no extensions!)

IT’S TIME to do some spring cleaning by recycling those old cell phones and cell phone accessories that you no longer use or need to support a worthwhile cause.

The Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance (APAWLA) has volunteered to help the Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF) with its HopeLine Phone Drive. For every cell phone and accessory (e.g., home chargers, car chargers, holsters, headsets, etc.) collected through this phone drive by June 30, 2013, Verizon Wireless will donate $5 to CPAF for each of those items collected. CPAF is having this phone drive in order to raise funds to replace the frequently-used vans at its Emergency and Transitional Shelters for survivors of domestic violence.

Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF)
Established in 1978, CPAF is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization specializing in providing culturally and linguistically sensitive services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

Today, CPAF responds to thousands of crisis calls on its 24-hour hotline in 30 API languages and shelters hundreds of women and children, in addition to providing community education and outreach. For more information about CPAF’s hotline, call: 1-800-339-3940.

CPAF’s HopeLine Phone Drive
Many of the women who enter CPAF’s emergency and transitional shelters come with nothing but the clothes on their back and very often without their own mode of transportation. The vans at CPAF’s emergency and transitional shelters are used daily to transport survivors from violent homes to a safe shelter, to and from legal and medical appointments, and to help move families out of shelters and into their own permanent housing. These vans are a critical means of support for these survivors, but those vehicles are aging and need to be replaced!

In order to meet the traveling needs of CPAF’s clients, CPAF has teamed up with Verizon Wireless and APAWLA as well as various other groups, such as Asian American Journalists Association-L.A. Chapter (AAJA-LA), to raise funds to replace its shelter vans. From now through June 30, 2013, CPAF’s goal is to collect 5,000 no-longer-used cell phones and accessories (chargers, cases, headsets), regardless if they are in working condition or not, for which Verizon will donate $5 per unit.

By assisting CPAF with this year’s Hopeline Phone Drive, you will help survivors continue on the path to a new beginning. APAWLA has two collection sites where you can drop off your old cell phones and accessories:

Downtown L.A.: Catherine Endo Chuck, McBirney & Chuck, A Professional Corporation, 800 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 340, Los Angeles, CA 90017; Telephone: (213) 688-9100 [No free parking available]

South Bay: K. Anne Inoue, Attorney at Law, Law Offices of K. Anne Inoue, 3828 West Carson Street, Suite 102, Torrance, CA 90503; Telephone: (424) 634-9240 [Free parking available in parking lot]

APAWLA also will have a collection box available at the upcoming Dim Sum Mentorship Social of our Young Lawyers and Law Students (YLLS) Committee on Saturday, May 18 @ 10:30 a.m., at NBC Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park.

Help support CPAF’s HopeLine Phone Drive and tell your friends, relatives and colleagues about this phone drive. No donation receipts will be issued for the items collected. For more information about CPAF’s HopeLine Phone Drive, visit https://www.facebook.com/CPAF HopelinePhoneDrive or contact LeilaM@cpaf.info.