Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California Community Service

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese monk, activist, writer (b.1926)

CURRENT PROJECTS

Volunteers Needed for VABANC / ACBA / VACCEB Monthly Pro Bono Legal Clinics
Volunteer attorneys and law students are needed for the monthly free legal clinics sponsored by VABANC / Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA)'s Volunteer Legal Services Corporation (VLSC), and Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay (VACCEB). The clinics are held on the first Wednesday of every month from 6pm to 8pm at VACCEB's Community Center located at 655 International in Oakland. Please email Diane Luong at communityservice@vabanc.org for more information. English Flyer.

Volunteers Needed for VABANC / KGACLC Monthly Pro Bono Legal Clinics
VABANC and the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center (KGACLC) of Santa Clara University Law School are collaborating to provide free legal information to the Vietnamese community in the San Jose area.  The Vietnamese American community in San Jose is the largest concentration of Vietnamese Americans in the United States. Clinics are typically held on the third Wednesday of every month. The date, time, and location of the August clinic will be announced shortly.   Volunteers and donations are needed.

Please contact Jenny Do at communityservice@vabanc.org for more information. English Flyer. Vietnamese Flyer.

 

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*Please visit us at www.vabanc.org as dates/times/locations of clinics may be changed.

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PAST PROJECTS:

BP Oil Disaster Clinic
In response to the urgent legal needs of the Vietnamese American community affected by the BP Oil Disaster, VABANC is mobilized attorneys to the Gulf Coast to conduct a Legal Aid Clinic on June 25-26, 2010.  The legal clinic provided access and education concerning BP claims policy affecting thousands of Vietnamese fishermen. The clinics were co-hosted by Louisiana Congressman Anh Cao and the Mississippi Center for Justice.

VABANC Foreclosure Clinic in San Jose

VABANC Law Series
VABANC, with the financial support of the office of San Jose Councilman Chuck Reed, is pleased to present a series of one-hour live Vietnamese language radio programs on Que Huong Vietnamese Radio AM 1120. We will post information about future shows. Past programs included:
Family Law -- jurisdictional issues in family court, legal separation procedures and final dissolution, community property division, custody and visitation rights, and spousal support. Presenters: Ms. Felicita Ngo of the Law Offices of Felicita Ngo and Ms. Nga Tang of Hoover & Bechtel. Ms. Van Tran will be the show's moderator.
Immigration Law -- what a green card holder with a criminal record needs to know before that person leaves and re-enters the United States. Presenters: Carry Pham, Cuong Bui and Van H. Tran (moderator).
Employment/Labor Law -- what employees and employers should know about their rights and obligations. Presenters: Willie Nguyen, Bick Nguyen and Vinh Pham (moderator/interpreter).

Thanksgiving Dinner 
VABANC members came bright and early to serve breakfast to the needy at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco during Thanksgiving weekend 2007.

Legal Aid Clinics for Survivors of Hurricane Katrina 
To meet the unprecedented legal needs of the Vietnamese-speaking community in Louisiana and Mississippi arising out of Hurricane Katrina, VABANC, working with other national and Gulf-area organizations, helped to set up, recruit for, and staff free legal aid clinics in Biloxi, Mississippi in 2007 and New Orleans, Louisiana in 2006. For the Biloxi clinic, VABANC was able to recruit seven attorneys and other volunteers from California and several others from across the country to travel to Mississippi to provide services for approximately 70 clients.

High School Outreach 
VABANC helped coordinate a visit by high school students from challenging urban environments to observe activities at the San Francisco Superior Court.

Tet Festivals 
For many years, VABANC has been present at the Tet Festivals in both San Jose and San Francisco to distribute information about legal rights, legal aid providers, law school admission, and law as a career.

Community Outreach Relating to the Shooting of Cau Thi Bich Tran
VABANC participated in community outreach relating to the tragic shooting of Cau Thi Bich Tran.

Lawyers in the Library
VABANC members have participated in San Jose's Lawyers in the Library informational drop-in program.