This event is co-hosted by Welcome to Chinatown and AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service to raise funds for Welcome to Chinatown’s Longevity Fund, a small business relief fund that distributes $5,000 grants to small businesses in the Chinatown community to help relieve overhead costs and allowing them to focus on COVID-19 recovery.

Moderator: Tiffany A. Miao, Associate, BakerHostetler

Panelists:

• Karho Leung, Founder, 12Pell
• Jan Lee, Chinatown Activist
• William Hao, Counsel, Alston & Bird

Jan Lee, Property Owner, Chinatown Advocate

Jan Lee is a 3rd gen Chinese American resident of Chinatown. He manages his family's two tenement buildings in the historic core of Chinatown, the family has owned and managed the buildings for 96 years. Jan works closely with legislators and small property owners, having met with over 50 law makers since March 2020 to advocate for small owners, particularly those who are immigrants and #BIPOC. As a co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal he has worked with media, legislators, residents and community groups to push back against the Mayor's ill conceived "borough based jail" plan which would place a 300 ft tall jail into Chinatown. He is a co-petitioner and organizer of the article 78 lawsuit which received a favorable judgement recently.

Jan is also a second generation board member of one of the oldest settlement houses in Lower Manhattan, Hamilton-Madison House. Jan is a licensed professional home improvement contractor.

Karho Leung, Owner, 12Pell

Karho Leung is an ex corporate accountant who’s desire for entrepreneurship allowed him to break the mold to which he refers to as the “Asian American Narrative” - a cultural idealization that measures success based on profession. After leaving the suit and tie behind, Karho’s passion is to create community spaces and to inspire others to challenge their cultural norms of success.

William Hao, Counsel, Alston & Bird

William Hao is counsel in Alston & Bird’s Financial Restructuring & Reorganization Group. William is experienced in a wide range of bankruptcy, litigation, and out-of-court restructuring matters. He represents secured creditors, hedge funds, trade creditors, lessors and lessees, and other parties-in-interest in distressed situations and in all aspects of bankruptcy proceedings such as avoidance actions, claims litigation, and the assumption and rejection of contracts and leases. William also has extensive experience representing parties in securitizations and other structured finance products in distressed situations and in commercial litigation. William regularly advises clients on bankruptcy issues in connection with finance and M&A transactions.

William is the treasurer of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and a co-chair of its Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee. William also serves as a co-chair of the Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’/Debtors’ Rights Committee of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.