News & Announcements

The Application Deadline Has Been Extended to April 30, 2020!

We at AALAM recognize that our law student members have had to adjust to significant changes in your learning environments and we understand that the current situation may have an impact on your summer plans as well. With that in mind, we are extending the deadline for the AALAM/Dow Fund Scholarship to April 30, 2020 to give you more time to submit applications. If you have any questions or difficulties submitting your application, please contact Steven Kim or Tony Lu, co-chairs of the 2020 AALAM/Dow Fund Scholarship Committee.

Congratulations to AALAM member Payal Salsburg on her recent promotion to Partner in the firm Laredo & Smith, LLP!

Payal focuses her practice in the areas of business litigation, corporate advice and counsel, and white collar criminal defense. Payal works with large and small businesses and their executives in connection with an array of matters including contract and business disputes, False Claims Act litigation, State Ethics Commission inquiries, and government and internal investigations. Payal also routinely advises closely-held businesses on corporate and employment matters.

In addition to AALAM, Payal is a member of the Women’s Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston. She was recently named to the Board of Directors of the South Asian Bar Association.

See Laredo & Smith’s full press release here: https://laredosmith.com/payal-salsburg-elevated-to-partner-with-laredo-smith-llp/

A link to Payal Salsburg’s attorney profile is here:    https://laredosmith.com/attorneys/payal-salsburg/

AALAM Proudly Congratulates Board Member Jennifer Fang on her Election to Partnership at the Law Firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Corporate Practice Group!

Jennifer Fang is a partner-elect in the Boston office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Her practice includes advising start-ups and high-growth, innovative clients and their board and management teams on a range of matters, including formation, corporate governance, securities laws, and other legal matters and assisting clients with equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and other corporate transactions. She represents clients in a wide variety of industries, including biotechnology, therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, informatics, healthcare IT, enterprise software, and clean technology.

See Wilson Sonsini's official press release here: https://www.wsgr.com/en/insights/wilson-sonsini-goodrich-and-rosati-elects-17-new-partners.html

A link to Jennifer Fan's attorney profile is here: https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/jennifer-fang.html

AALAM congratulates Attorney Joseph Y. Wang for his recent election to partnership in the firm Sherin & Lodgen's Real Estate Department and Hospitality Practice Group!

Joseph has been engaged in several large development projects in Boston, where he has negotiated with local and state agencies and private parties to bring brand name hotels and residential stock to the city. He has participated in the negotiation and administration of complex agreements for multiphase development projects involving state and local tax incentives, sale-leaseback transactions, and multilayered contingencies and financial clawbacks, and has worked to resolve issues related to zoning, governmental confidentiality requirements, incentives applications, and site selection criteria. His experience also includes acquisition and disposition, finance, and foreclosure transactions.

Prior to joining Sherin and Lodgen, Joseph was an attorney at Mintz and Seyfarth Shaw, both in Boston. Earlier, he was a law fellow at Prudential Financial, Inc. in New Jersey as part of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) / Prudential Fellowship Program. While in law school, Joseph served as an articles editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law and was an extern for the Hon. Robert Eastaugh of the Alaska Supreme Court. He currently serves as co-chair of the NAPABA Real Estate committee and is active in the Boston Bar Association.

See Sherin and Lodgen's full press release here: https://www.sherin.com/firm-news/sherin-and-lodgen-adds-joseph-y-wang-to-its-established-real-estate-department-and-hospitality-practice-group/

A link to Joe Wang's attorney profile is located here: https://www.sherin.com/attorneys/joseph-y-wang/

AALAM proudly congratulates Attorney Catherine Ham on her appointment as an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court.

Catherine was nominated by Governor Charlie Baker on June 26, 2019 and confirmed by the Governor's Council by unanimous vote on July 31, 2019.  Attorney Ham has extensive experience in the Plymouth County and Suffolk County District Attorney's Offices and has spent her career protecting the Commonwealth's most vulnerable.  AALAM has the utmost confidence that Attorney Ham will serve the bench well.

About Catherine H. Ham:

Attorney Catherine Hyo-Kyung Ham began her legal career as Staff Attorney at the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts, representing indigent domestic violence victims. From 2005 to 2015, she served as Assistant District Attorney in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office in the Juvenile Court, Domestic Violence Unit, Brockton Trial Session and served as Supervising/Lead Attorney in the Brockton and Wareham District Courts. In 2010, Attorney Ham joined the Family Protection Unit and in 2014 became Deputy Chief of the Family Protection Unit. She was awarded the MDAA Spotlight Award for Outstanding Service/Professionalism in 2010 for her work in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.  From 2015 to present, Attorney Ham has served as Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. In that office, she has investigated and prosecuted cases in the Child Protection Unit, Senior Trial Unit and Homicide Unit.  Attorney Ham has tried over 150 jury and bench trials in various District Courts and over 50 jury trials in various Superior Courts, including 12 homicide trials. She is Co-Chair of the Criminal Law Section at the Boston Bar Association and a member of Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts. Ham earned her B.A. from Haverford College in 2000 and her J.D. from New England School of Law in 2003.

AALAM proudly congratulates AALAM Board Members Peggy Ho and Uzma Saghir for being selected as 2019 "Top Women of Law" by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a well-deserved recognition.

Peggy L. Ho is Executive Vice President, Government Relations and Chief of Staff - Compliance Legal & Risk at LPL Financial. LPL Financial is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer and supports over 14,000 financial advisors nationwide. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Council, is chair of the LPL Financial Political Action Committee and is Secretary for the Committee for the Choral Endowment at Harvard University. 

Uzma Saghir is corporate counsel at the General Counsel's office of Liberty Mutual Insurance, a Fortune 100 company. In her role as counsel, Uzma serves as a strategic business advisor where she engages with stakeholders to identify, develop, and implement strategies to manage legal exposure, proposing practical risk mitigation strategies, providing creative legal solutions and ensuring compliance with various legislation, policies and regulations. Uzma has been and continues to be a Board Member of the Women's Bar Foundation since 2013 and is currently chair of the Pro Bono Programs Committee.   

AALAM joins its national affiliate partners, NAPABA and AALDEF, in applauding yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming the lower court’s decision to block the addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 Census in Department of Commerce v. New York (18-966) and remanded the case for further proceedings.  The Supreme Court’s decision affirmed the decision of the Southern District of New York that the Department of Commerce’s rationale for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census was pretextual because “the evidence tells a story that does not match the explanation the Secretary gave for his decision.”

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in this country and the largest segment of new immigrants. We will continue the fight to ensure that everyone in our country is properly counted in the 2020 Census and that our community receives its fair share of resources and representation. 

You can read NAPABA and AALDEF's full statement here: https://www.napaba.org/page/1906_napaba_aaldef_scotus_census_opinion

AALAM enthusiastically congratulates Board Member Len Ho for being honored with one of MA Lawyers Weekly's 2019 "Leaders in the Law" awards.  AALAM is immensely proud of Len for receiving this well-deserved recognition.

Len A. Ho is Division Counsel at Zipcar, the world's leading car sharing network. He previously served as Director and Senior Corporate Counsel at Boston Scientific Corporation, Managing Director at Sallie Mae/Upromise and Assistant General Counsel at Game Show Network Digital. His legal background also includes corporate experience at Mintz Levin (Boston), Edwards Wildman Palmer (Boston) and Brobeck (San Francisco). After receiving his B.S. in Business at the University of California at Berkeley, Len obtained certification as a CPA working in corporate tax at Arthur Andersen in Manhattan.

AALAM enthusiastically congratulates AALAM Board Members Melissa Wong and Eugene Ho for their election to partnership at their law firms, Holland & Knight, LLP and Verrill Dana, LLP, respectively. 

Melissa works in Holland & Knight's Boston office and is a member of the firm's national Healthcare & Life Sciences Team. Ms. Wong provides advice on a variety of healthcare regulatory and transactional matters, and represents a diverse group of healthcare clients, including pharmacies (retail, specialty, long-term care and mail order), pharmacy benefit managers, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers, managed care organizations, third-party administrators and utilization review entities.  See her full bio here:  https://www.hklaw.com/melissa-wong/

Eugene counsels companies in all stages of their development from start-up through acquisition. Eugene has significant transactional experience in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, sales and divestitures, joint venture arrangements, commercial loan transactions, and private offerings. He also advises startups and entrepreneurs on entity formation matters, founder issues, and business planning and strategy. In addition, Eugene represents individuals and companies in a wide variety of industries, including telecommunications, manufacturing, software, transportation, health care, and biotechnology.  See his full bio here: http://www.verrilldana.com/eho/

AALAM proudly congratulates Bethany Li for being named one of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's (NAPABA) 2018 Best Lawyers Under 40 award winners.

Each November, NAPABA recognizes talented individuals in the Asian Pacific American legal community who have achieved prominence and distinction in their respective fields — be it the practice of law, academia, business, civic and charitable affairs, the judiciary, or politics — and who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Asian Pacific American civic or community affairs.

In June, AALAM enthusiastically nominated and supported AALAM member, Bethany Li, for the NAPABA’s “Best Under 40” Award.  Bethany currently serves as director of the Asian Outreach Unit (AOU) at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS). GBLS’s mission is to provide free civil legal aid to help individuals and families achieve justice and meet basic needs such as food, security, safety and adequate shelter.  Bethany is an accomplished attorney and a tireless advocate for the underserved in the Asian American community. She has dedicated her life to public service, working to support low-income and Asian immigrant communities while partnering with grassroots organizations to train future generations of public interest attorneys. AALAM is excited that Bethany has received this well-deserved recognition and honor.