by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Diversity and association news were items of discussion at the Jacksonville Asian American Bar Association (JAABA) monthly meeting held at the law office of Akerman Senterfitt Thursday.
JAABA President Maria Aguila addressed the recent Diversity Symposium that was held by a number of area bars, including the JAABA, at Florida Coastal School of Law.
“I was a little skeptical at first about what we could plan in a month,” said Aguila. “But I am very proud of what (Jacksonville Bar Association President) Joe Camerlengo was able to pull together. He reached out to (past Florida Bar President) Howard Coker and soon after Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente agreed to be our speaker and the pieces started to fall into place.”
To further support diversity, the members discussed developing a scholarship for an Asian law student or college student. The amount and structure of the scholarship are being developed.
The membership was also notified that the JAABA was an affiliate member of the National Asian-Pacific American Bar Association and members were eligible to attend the Southeast Regional Conference March 27-29 in Nashville, Tenn.
JAABA is also planning to partner with the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association at Coastal Law to host a Continuing Legal Education seminar discussing domestic violence victims in the Asian Community and immigration options.
Members of the JAABA Board include President Aguila, Vice President Tala Woods, Treasurer Larry Wang and Secretary Patrick Patangan.
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