Rutgers Asian & Pacific AMerican Law Students Association
Cordially invites you to:
Mela 2024
Mela 2024
A Night of Community Building and Celebration
Commemorating AAPI achievements in the legal field.
April
05
2024
Newhouse Center for Law & Justice
Friday
6:00
123 Washington St,
Newark, NJ 07102
pm
semi-formal Attire
Cultural Attire is Encouraged
What is Mela ?
Mela, meaning “gathering” or “festival” in Sanskrit, is a school-wide event that commemorates Asian-Pacific American achievements in the legal field and provides a wonderful opportunity for students, alumni, and the surrounding legal community to come together for a night of celebration.
Mela is a way to build community among the many AAPI professionals in the legal field where students can meet mentors, where attorneys may be honored, and where people can come together to celebrate our continued contributions to the professional legal community.
It is a night of friendship, good food, good music, and entertainment. Please join us as we celebrate our Community.
Honorees
Xiao Sun ‘11
Shareholder, Orloff, Lowenbach, Stifelman & Siegel
Xiao Sun is a proud graduate of Rutgers Law School and alum of APALSA.
He is a partner at his law firm and handles a broad range of complex commercial disputes in both state and federal courts, as well as sophisticated trust and estate litigations in New Jersey and New York.
Xiao has significant experience representing businesses, business owners, shareholders, and executives in all areas of commercial litigation, including cases involving contracts, business torts, shareholder disputes, and other issues arising from commercial activity. He is also a skilled trust and estate litigator, representing estate, executors, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries in a wide variety of disputes before probate courts.
In addition, Xiao is frequently called upon to serve as a Court-Appointed attorney in state guardianship actions and was a recipient of the New Jersey Judiciary’s Pro Bono Award in 2023, in recognition of his services.
Joy Park ‘15
Policy Lead, Google
Joy Park is a Policy Lead at Google. She leads the global policy development for Play and Android on content topics such as election and health misinformation, violent extremism, hate speech, and generative AI.
Previously, Joy was the legal counsel for Asia at Human Rights Foundation for six years, where she led the legal and policy advocacy for the region, working closely with grassroots activists to amplify their voices while focusing on issues relating to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. As a first generation immigrant from Hong Kong, Joy takes special interest in international human rights issues, especially on those relating to global authoritarianism. Joy received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law.
While in law school, Joy was a clinical student at the Community & Transactional Lawyering Clinic, and served as the research editor of the Women's Rights Law Reporter, as well as the PR Director of APALSA. In her spare time, Joy enjoys exploring NYC and New Jersey with her husband, a fellow Rutgers Law alum, and their twin toddlers.
Schedule
of Events
Cocktail Hour
6:00-7:00 PM
Opening Remarks
7:00-7:10 PM
Honoree’s Speech
7:15 - 7:30 PM
Dinner Service
7:30-8:30 PM
Closing Remarks
8:55 - 9:00 PM
Menu
Dinner Buffet
Chicken Tikka Masala
Paneer Masala
Vegetarian Masala
Drunken Tofu Noodles
Chicken Pad Thai
Chicken Yellow Curry
Vegetable Red Curry
Beef Green Curry
appetizers
Samosas (Vegetarian)
Spring Rolls
Shrimp Rolls
Chicken Satay
Golden Fried Tofu
Special THanks
to our Generous sponsors :
Diamond SPONSORS:
GOLD SPONSORS:
SILVER SPONSORS:
Bronze SPONSORS:
Still Accepting Sponsors!
ABOUT US
APALSA
SALSA
The Asian & Pacific American Law Student Association, (“APALSA”), founded at Rutgers Law School in 1976, is a student affinity group that has students from throughout the vast Asian continent.
APALSA acts as a student organization that fosters and encourages community building among AAPI students, encouraging mentorship and guidance among its members.
APALSA also promotes events that discuss topics involving AAPI matters, especially where it intersects with the legal field.
APALSA acts as a bridge for students and attorneys, working with various AAPI bar associations to promote and advance legal careers for the AAPI community. APALSA happily works with different affinity groups throughout Rutgers, building on the camaraderie and allyship that the People’s Electric Law School was built on.
Rutgers Law Newark now has a South Asian Law Student Association (“SALSA”) because its founders saw a need in the community to celebrate and bring together people from the colorful and diverse hemisphere of South Asia and people who are interested in South Asian culture, history, and diversity.
We were inspired by and work with the South Asian Bar Association as well as APALSA. We hope to collaborate with legal professionals and students in the community to promote life-long connections and memories.
We are grateful for Rutgers’ support and proud to collaborate with APALSA for this incredible night.
