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Dear Readers,
Hello and welcome to the seventh edition of the KLC Summer Newsletter! We hope that your week has gone well. We apologize for the lack of a Korean translation this time around. A translation will be provided in a forthcoming edition. Thank you very much for your patience!
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California Changes to the Bar
For individuals that are planning to take the Bar exam this year, please read this link for the ruling of the California Supreme Court on Bar Examinations.
The Federal Government Rescinds the Rule for Foreign Students
For international students studying in the United States, please follow this link to read the full details on the Trump administration's rescission of a recent rule requiring international students to leave the country if all their classes were held online.
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An Interdisciplinary Round-Table Discussion on the Impact of COVID-19: Perspectives from Leaders in Business, Government, and the Law.
The July 14th Webinar was hosted by OCKABA and hosted by Peter Rho, partner at Lee, Hong, Degerman, Kang & Waimey. Panelists included Andy Kim, Congressman of the 3rd Congressional District of New Jersey; Suzy Lee, VP and General Counsel at Toshiba America Electronic Components; Dr. Kenneth Kim, Founder of Ark Clinical Research; and Alex Kim, Partner at Greenberg Traurig.
The structure of the webinar was to discuss the four different perspectives on the COVID-19 response, which included: 1) Governance, 2) In-House, 3) COVID Testing Management, and 4) Private Practice.
Governance
Congressman Andy Kim began his discussion of the governmental response to COVID-19 by noting his National Security appointment being significant in his appointment to the Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis. The role of the committee is to address the economic issues regarding the coronavirus crisis. He noted that as a legislative body, they have been able to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, but further efforts to pass legislation providing relief have been largely been blocked by partisan efforts. When posed with a question comparing the US response to other countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, Congressman Kim responded that although the United States' initial response has much left to be desired, the current effort is aimed towards stemming the deleterious economic effects on the public.
In-House
Suzy Lee discussed the challenges of in-house counsel during the coronavirus, such as the approaching new legal issues for in-house counsel as well as the additional costs incurred from transitioning to working at home. On the issue of new legal situations for in-house counsel, frequent situations such as whether people could bring office equipment home and how the company should move forward are questions that have come to mind. In response, Ms. Lee's suggestions were to work with leadership and the finance department in minimizing unnecessary business risk, respond quickly to force majeure clauses and contract issues, and use other in-house counsel responses as the benchmark for how a company should respond. In regards to addressing company morale, Ms. Lee noted how influential historical leaders such as FDR had made sure to keep the greater public upbeat, provide transparency in updates, and allow flexibility to accommodate the individual needs of workers.
COVID Testing Management
Dr. Kenneth Kim discussed his experience advising companies and organizations as the founder of Ark Clinical Research LLC. He presented the evidence that because 50-60% of COVID cases are asymptomatic, prevention and testing are extremely important in the workplace setting. His proposed approach to providing a secure workplace was to avoid using "feel good" preventative measures such as temperature checks, as they are inaccurate accurately identifying positive cases, but focus on a strategy of testing that balances the different strengths and weaknesses of the different types of tests. By using a variety of tests with differing strengths (ie. some are easier to administer but are less accurate, some are more accurate but require more specialized equipment), workplaces are able to effectively identify positive cases and after the initial baseline testing, maintain testing in order to keep the workplace safe.
Private Practice
Alex Kim addressed the private practice changes in response to COVID-19. Because law firm performance is a lagging indicator, this year's first quarter growths are an inaccurate assessment of how law firms are responding to changes caused by the coronavirus. Instead, firms should look at the second quarter reports in order to see the direction firms are going. In the meantime, methods that firms can use to manage their potential decrease in revenue include pay cuts, changing summer associate programs, as well as downsizing. Additionally, implementing mask policies, social distancing protocols, as well as modifying the layout of the office are other steps that firms can take to minimize risk. As a final note, Mr. Kim suggested that despite the pandemic, companies should continue to reach out to law firms in order to foster long term relationships, and rethinking the types of work that companies can give law firms, including low-cost work that may ordinarily not be given. Furthermore, simply reaching out to firms to check in with community members is good for improving a sense of community in moving forward in a post-COVID economy.
For further information on the webinar, please refer to the following link.
Summer of Listening Session 1: "Dear Community, Why Do Black Lives Matter to AAPIs?"
On Friday, July 17th, the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA) hosted the first webinar of the "Summer of Listening" Series. The webinar was moderated by Alisi Tulua of OCAPICA, with a panel consisting of Mary Anne Foo, Executive Director and Founder of OCAPICA, Ellen Ahn, Executive Director of Korean Community Services, Neomai Taione, a Tongan Activist, and Shikha Bhatnagar, Executive Director of the South Asian Network.
The webinar was in a letter format, where each speaker wrote a letter addressing their community.
Mary Anne Foo recounted her 9th birthday gift from her mother, which were children's books on the civil rights movements. This was because her mother wanted her to understand that the injustice that Mary Anne Foo would experience is but a part of a history of injustices inflicted upon minorities. Other pertinent experiences were the prominent active KKK presence in the area, the Shame of being Asian, and the inability for educated Asians to get jobs that met their qualifications.
The BLM movement, like previous movements, is not being treated as an equality issue and looks past racism that is still deep-seated within our society. (for further reference, please refer to this video about the Jim Crow Museum that features memorabilia produced during the Obama administration)
Ellen Ahn began her letter addressed to the Korean American community, where she divided the letter into 3 parts, the older first-generation Korean Americans, second-generation Korean Americans, and young Korean Americans. The history of the Korean American community started in Hawaii as indentured workers, where subsequent legislation like the Oriental Exclusion Act led to moments in history where Korean immigrants were prevented from entering the country.
Ms. Ahn addressed the first-generation Korean American by recognizing the situation that they came from - experiences of poverty, the eradication of culture, and pointless deaths - which she linked to Breonna Taylor's death, and other events that occurred to other communities of color. While it is understandable that first-generation Korean Americans were too busy to think of other issues such as survival, Ms. Ahn urged them to take this moment to reconsider their conscious and unconscious biases. Towards the second-generation community, Ms. Ahn reminded them of the pain and suffering from events such as Saigu. She reminded them that while affluent places like Beverly Hills were protected, Koreatown was allowed to burn. Rather than becoming complacent with the bamboo ceiling, we should keep pushing forward to fight for true equality, and to be leaders by leading by example. Towards the young Korean Americans, she acknowledged that the nation is "messed up," giving examples of the response to the pandemic, the ongoing protests for racial justice. She encouraged them to continue the fight for equality.
Neomai Taione addressed the Pacific Islander community, by acknowledging the implicit biases and microaggressions within the Tongan community (such as the word "'uli'uli' used to describe the Black community, but translated as "dirty dirty") She also delved into how the Pacific Islander community understands the importance of carrying responsibilities for others, and how we are each other's keepers. This means what when injustice towards one community occurs, we have a role in standing up for them.
Lastly, Shikha Bhatnagar addressed the BLM movement as an extension of history from Southeast Asian colonization and systemic racism. She also acknowledged the anti-black biases (such as staying out of the sun and being dark-skinned) still prevalent within the Southeast Asian community. She stated that the real "white man's burden" (for further reading, please refer to Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" here) is not the domination of other cultures, but to give equal opportunity to people and to give unconditional solidarity.
For the entire webinar, please refer to this link.
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Interview with Recent LLM Graduate Pierre Yoon |
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We would like to thank recent LLM graduate Pierre Yoon for his time at UCI Law, as he has returned this year back to South Korea. Included below is an interview with him about his experiences at UCI Law.
How has your overall experience of being in the UCI community been? What are some of your most memorable experiences?
I've really enjoyed being a student and a KLC fellow at UCI. This was my first experience studying abroad, so I don't know what other schools look like. However, I found that the professors of the UCI law school were very professional as well as kind. As a student who studied only in Korea, It was very impressive that the professor tries to memorize most of the students' names and interacts with the students. All professors were good, but I remember that my property professor and criminal procedure professor were the best. On the last day of the property class, the professor sang a song for us. She changed the lyrics of the Beatles song 'Let it be' to the contents of the property class. It was lovely. Also, my criminal procedure professor hid fake drugs under the chair of the classroom in order to explain the concept of search and seizure. It was hilarious. Overall, the faculty of UCI were amazing.
What kinds of "lessons learned" in the United States can you bring back to Korea?
Before I went to UCI, I was working at the company for 10 years. I was sort of exhausted. I needed a rest to escape from burn-out. That's why I decided to go to UCI. One may ask, "Go to the law school even though I wanted to take a rest?: I know it sounds crazy. However, studying in the US has been my dream since I was a university student. I thought it's now or never. Studying in law school was really really hard, especially for a student that English is not my first language. Nonetheless, I liked that I could develop myself. I also met a lot of good people whom I could learn from their passion. Thanks to them, I also could find some motivation.
Conversely, what can the community in the United States learn from Korea?
South Korea is a well-developed country in the IT field. Therefore, online communities are also very well developed. I usually get a lot of information from those communities. When I searched for information about law school curriculums, how to prepare classes or the bar exam, and the administrational process of school or the bar exam, it was difficult to find them.
Have any final thoughts or comments?
Special thanks to Khary and Mary, When I first attended the UCI law school, I was very frustrated because I couldn't understand every lecture due to my English. Whenever I felt difficulty with adapting to a new environment, I visited your office and talked to you. Talking to you was a great relief and by doing this, I got to know many people who helped me. Your advice in terms of how to prepare for the classes and the bar exam was very helpful. I also appreciate your help when I requested many administrational documents. Thanks for your help, I enjoyed my study and life at UCI. If there was no COVID-19, I would have said hello to you guys at the office before I returned to Korea, but I'm sorry that I couldn't. I hope you stay healthy and see you again. Thank you so much!
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"Summer of Listening Series"
In light of the calls for greater social change, please tune into the "Summer of Listening Series" organized by UCI Humanities Center. This five-part series will cover discussions of why we as the Asian American community need to also be invested in the cause for social change.
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Thank you very much for reading this week's edition of the newsletter! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
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