|
|
 |
Contact: Rosanne M. Van Heertum
Director of Development, The New York Bar Foundation
rvanh@tnybf.org
518-487-5650
HON. CHARLES L. BRIEANT, JR. FELLOWSHIP AWARDED TO
LAW STUDENT, HAI-CHING YANG, BY NEW YORK BAR FOUNDATION
University of
Washington Law Student Selected for Prestigious
Honor
Hai-Ching Yang, a student at the University of Washington School of
Law (Seattle, WA), has been chosen as the inaugural Hon. Charles L.
Brieant, Jr. Fellow. The fellowship is administered by The New
York Bar Foundation. A native of Flushing, Queens, Ms. Yang was
selected by Hon. Kimba M. Wood, Chief United States District Court Judge
for the Southern District of New York, to serve as a judicial intern in
the Court during the summer 2009. More than 300 applications were
submitted for the $5,000 fellowship, which will be applied to
Yang’s tuition or other appropriate law school-related expense
during her second year of law school.
A summa cum laude graduate of Cornell University (Ithaca), Ms. Yang
is pursuing a J.D. degree and expects to graduate from law school in
2011. She is a recipient of the President’s Scholarship from
the Asian Bar Association of Washington and the Lim, Ruger & Kim
Scholarship from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law
Foundation. Yang earned a B.A. degree in Sociology and Asian
Studies while at Cornell where she was a member of the Quill and Dagger
Senior Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honor Society and
Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society. She was
recognized with the Office of Minority Educational Affairs Award for
Scholarship and Leadership and the Community Service Award for Ithaca
Asian American Heritage Month while at Cornell.
Fluent in spoken and written Mandarin, Yang served a one-year
Fulbright Research Fellowship at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China
where she studied the role of threat perception in U.S.-China relations
through the lens of urban underclass. From 2006 through 2008, she
was deputy secretary-general and consultant for Peking University
Women’s Law Studies and Legal Aid Center in Beijing, coordinating
all activities within Women’s Watch-China, an advocacy think tank
program for the Center. Additionally, she served as a summer
intern at the Legal Aid Society and Urban Justice Center, both of New
York, and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum in
Washington, DC.
“We are delighted to name Ms. Yang the 2009 Hon. Charles L.
Brieant, Jr. Fellow and I am pleased at the prospect of working with her
this summer,” said Judge Wood. “This fellowship is a
wonderful way to honor the memory of Judge Brieant and I am certain that
Ms. Yang will pursue the fellowship with enthusiasm while learning to
appreciate Judge Brieant’s spirit of justice and deep sense of
fairness, honesty and independence.”
The fellowship has been established to commemorate the selfless
dedication of Judge Charles L. Brieant, Jr. to public service and the
federal courts. Judge Brieant, who passed away last year, was
appointed a United States District Court Judge for the Southern District
of New York in 1971. He served on the Court for 37 years and as
the Court’s Chief Judge for seven of those years. The
creation of the fellowship was spearheaded by the law clerks and
judicial interns who served in Judge Brieant’s chambers during his
years of judicial service. Proudly known as members of Judge
Brieant’s Judicial Family, the law clerks and judicial interns all
share the commitment of preserving the memory of Judge Brieant and
passing on his wit and wisdom to those who will serve as the Judge
Brieant Fellows in the years to come.
Founded in 1950, The New York Bar Foundation solicits charitable
contributions and provides funding for the following purposes:
increasing public understanding of the law; improving the justice system
and the law; facilitating the delivery of legal services; and enhancing
professional competence and ethics. For more information about The
New York Bar Foundation, go to www.tnybf.org, phone 518/487-5651 or
email foundation@tnybf.org.
###
|
News Center
