9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
Check-In/Breakfast/Networking
9:50 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Welcome Remarks by Karen Kim, AABANY President
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
“Mindful Embodiment As Means To Heal Burnout & Internalized Anti-Asian Bias”
Speaker: Anu Gupta
There is a widespread perception that fostering a culture of wellness and wellbeing in the law comes at the cost of performance and productivity. What if this wasn’t so? In fact, what if fostering wellness and wellbeing actually enhanced workplace productivity and performance? Not only that, what if it also helped us break implicit biases we hold towards others as well as ourselves? Three decades of research in neuroscience demonstrates this inextricable link.
In this interactive session, Anu will speak about this research and give participants an embodied experience of several tools they can incorporate to foster wellness and wellbeing at no cost. In light of racialized violence experienced by AAPI bodies, Anu will especially highlight the ways these tools can also support AAPI professionals to combat primary and secondary trauma.
In small and large group discussions, we will troubleshoot challenges or pushback that professionals face in prioritizing wellness at their firms. Participants are requested to leave their inhibitions at the door and be open to practicing and participating in a range of body and brain based exercises in a group setting.
11:05 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
“Mental Health 101 for the Asian Community”
Speakers: Dr. Nadine Chang, Alice Zhang
Session will help participants build awareness around the state of mental health in Asian communities, and unpack ways to recognize signs of distress (e.g., anxiety, burnout).
The session will also demystify the process of seeking care and discuss practical tools to have gentle conversations with caregivers and family members by reviewing evidence-based treatment and cultural adaptations for marginalized populations.
12:10 p.m. – 12:40 p.m.
Fireside Chat: “How to Find a Therapist and Mental Well-Being Tips”
Speaker: Ona Lu
Moderator – Maggie Poon
Ona Lu was most recently Lead Product Counsel at Meta. Prior to Meta, she served as counsel in diverse practice areas, from tech startups to an advertising agency and a boutique law firm. During 2022, Ona took a personal sabbatical away from a legal career to explore her passions. One of those passions is mental health and emotional wellbeing. Ona will share tips on how to find a therapist and mental well-being tips that have helped her in her career.
12:40 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Lunch will be provided
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
“Cultivate Resilience to Thrive Amid Challenging Times”
Speaker: Pema Sherpa
The session will discuss the plasticity of the mind to gain resilience, 2 significant habits to abandon, and 2 effective habits to cultivate for resilience. Pema will also share how one can implement resilience habits, followed by a 10-Minute Guided Meditation Session. Registrants will receive a Resilience Habit Implementation Guidebook.
3:05 p.m. – 4:05 p.m.
Fireside Chat: “Overcoming Setbacks and Failures”
Speaker (via Zoom): Alex Su
Moderator – Karen Kim
Alex Su has an enviable job. It involves elements of law, technology, and social media influencing. Alex’s career didn’t start off that way though. His journey to his current role at Ironclad was the result of several major setbacks early on in his career. Those setbacks helped him understand what his superpowers were and gave him the confidence to go off the beaten path. Alex will be sharing stories about what it was like to go through those failures, and how the dots ended up connecting down the road.
4:10 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.
“Challenges on Being the First and Prioritizing Your Well-Being”
AABANY is certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an Accredited CLE Provider. This continuing legal education program has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the CLE Board for one credit hours, of which one credit hour is applied toward the Law Practice Management requirement. This program is appropriate for transitional and non-transitional NY attorneys. Financial aid is available for qualified applicants – please write to cle@aabany.org for an application.
Inspiring panel of “Firsts” will share their careers and discuss various topics, such as imposter syndrome, work-life balance, stress and anxiety and mental well-being. Despite differences in backgrounds and practice areas, panel will share their commonalities, the importance of prioritizing your well-being and how we are all in this together.
Moderator – Yang Chen, first Executive Director of AABANY
Speakers:
- Vincent Chang – first AAPI NYCLA President and former AABANY president
- Hon. Sanket Bulsara – first South Asian-American Judge for the Second Circuit
- Concepcion Montoya – one of the founders of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York, the first Filipino bar association in New York
- Susan Jin Davis –Social Impact Officer for Al Roker Entertainment, formerly with Comcast Corporation, where she was the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer
5:20 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks by Karen Kim, AABANY President