The Asian American Law Fund of New York awards Public Interest Scholarships each year to law students with a demonstrated commitment to the Asian American community. The purpose of the award is to assist law students with their tuition while encouraging them to use their legal knowledge and training to benefit the Asian American community in New York and to foster commitment by law students to public service to the Asian American community in New York.
Year | Name | Law School | Community Service Organization |
1997 | Winnie Lee | Brooklyn Law School | AALDEF |
1998 | Franklin Chiu | Brooklyn Law School | AALDEF |
1999 | Pei Pei Cheng Jason Park | NY Law School Brooklyn Law School | MFY Legal Services Korean American Family Services |
2000 | Amelia Toledo Tony Lu | CUNY School of Law NYU Law School | AALDEF UNITE |
2001 | Megan Penick Soma Syed | NY Law School Albany Law School | MFY Legal Services UNITE |
2002 | Silvia Liu Suyin So | CUNY School of Law Georgetown U School of Law | MFY Legal Services AALDEF |
2003 | Bharati Narumanchi James Paglinawan | CUNY School of Law CUNY School of Law | AALDEF AAFE |
2004 | Tzung-lin Fu Constance Utada | NYU Law School Northeastern Law School | Sanctuary for Families MFY Legal Services |
2005 | Deepika Bains Monica Roli Khare | UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law Temple UniversityBeaseley School of Law | AALDEF EEOC, NY office |
2006 | Eileen Choi Sung-Min Lee Amy Tai | CUNY School of Law Fordham University School of Law American University Washington School of Law | AALDEF Sanctuary for Families AALDEF |
2007 | Miya Saika Chen Hye Won Chung Ali Najmi Krishna Sampath | American University Washington School of Law
CUNY School of Law CUNY School of Law Northeastern Law School | Center for Constitutional Rights
Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York AALDEF |
2008 | Haeya Yim Vichal Kumar* | Brooklyn Law School Hofstra Law School | AALDEF NYS Defenders Association |
2009 | Olivia Canlas Niji Jain* | CUNY School of Law Emory U School of Law | AALDEF Safe Horizon |
2010 | Pooja Awatramini*
Trinh Ngoc Tran John Ting | Seaton Hall University Law School
Hofstra University Law School CUNY School of Law | NYCLU
AALDEF Catholic Charities Newark |
2011 | Prathiba Desai
Sapna Patel Maweza Razzaq* | CUNY School of Law
Boston University School of Law Brooklyn Law School | Somaly Mam Foundation
MFY Legal Services Sakhi for South Asian Women |
2012 | Min Young Choi
Yi Lin Hira Amin* | Columbia Law School
Southern University Law Center CUNY School of Law | MinKwon
MFY Legal Services AALDEF |
2013 | Mieon Han
Lucy Zhang Nabila Taj* | Fordham University School of Law
Duke University School of Law CUNY School of Law | MinKwon
NYLAG Queens Legal Services |
2014 | Rebecca Arian
Eva Yung Pooja Shah* | CUNY School of Law
NYU School of Law Pace University School of Law | Legal Aid Society
NY Asian Women’s Center Urban Justice League |
2015 | Kamille Go
Jasleen Singh* | American U Washington College of Law
UC Berkeley School of Law | Legal Aid Society
Legal Aid Society |
2016 | Michelle Chan Alice Thai Maria Iman* | University of Virginia Law School NYU School of Law NY Law School | NY Asian Women’s Center Atlas: DIY Sakhi for South Asian Women |
2017 | Jane Lo Marissa Wong Devika M. Balaram* Ruhi Behal* | Temple University Beasley School of Law Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law New York University School of Law Fordham University School of Law | AALDEF Kings County DA Office Queens Legal Services Queens Legal Services |
2018 | Henna Kaushal Corinne Merdegia Nishat Bella Tabassum* | UC Berkeley School of Law Arizona State U Law School CUNY School of Law | NYCLU Legal Aid Society Kings County DA Office |
2019 | Vaishali S. Kamlal * | New England Law School | Bronx Defenders Office |
2020 | Jenna Agatep Jeremy Chan-Kraushar Susu Zhao Pooja Shivaprasad* | Northeastern University School of Law CUNY School of Law Fordham University School of Law Berkeley Law School | AABANY Pro Bono Clinic Coalition for Asian American Children and Families Urban Justice Center Center for Constitutional Rights |
2021 | Amanda Jimenez Evelyn (Meng) Lin Shelley Wu Dawa Lhamo* | CUNY Law School Syracuse University College of Law Cardozo School of Law CUNY Law School | Mission to End Modern Slavery Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Urban Justice Center Catholic Migration Services |
2022 | Juliana Chang Vincent Kwan Emlyn Medalla Mahum Vance* | Harvard Law School UC Hastings Law School CUNY Law School New York Law School | A Better Balance U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York National Domestic Workers Alliance Lawyers for Children |
2023 | Judy Lee Mylisa Nogra Deepti Sailappan | CUNY Law School Boston College Law School CUNY Law School | Mobilization for Justice Bronx Legal Services Brooklyn Defender Services |
*AALFNY – SABANY Public Interest Scholarships