Paul, Weiss Hosts Press Conference With Family of Asian Hate Crime Victim, New York Elected Officials, to Address Asian American Violence in New York

Paul, Weiss hosted a press conference to address the violence that led to the death of GuiYing Ma, a 62-year-old Queens resident who succumbed to her injuries on February 22 after an unprovoked attack while she was sweeping the sidewalk the day after Thanksgiving.

Firm Chairman Brad Karp and, among others, partner Loretta Lynch gathered alongside U.S. Congressperson Grace Meng and members of Senator John Liu’s office to stand in solidarity with Mrs. Ma’s family and the Asian American Pacific Islander community against the rising tide of racism and hate crimes in New York City.

Following the press conference, Paul, Weiss’s pro bono efforts were featured in a lengthy article in The New York Times on the New York Asian American responses to increased violence and incidents of racially motivated hate against their community. The article, “Asian Americans Grapple With Tide of Attacks: ‘We Need Our Safety Back,’” published on March 7, discussed the trauma and fear resulting from the recent rise in violence and the need for city officials to make a more concerted, multipronged effort to prevent the unprovoked attacks.

Mrs. Ma, who remained in a coma for several months following the brutal attack, is the fourth Asian American to die in the last two months in the city as a result of violence against the AAPI community. “All of these crimes are linked by a common thread of fear and hatred, and the irrational fear that is held by too many that to recognize everyone’s humanity somehow lessens theirs,” said Loretta.

Brad reaffirmed the firm’s pledge, in honor of Mrs. Ma and others “to fight for racial justice with all of our resources for as long as it takes to make a difference. We understand the challenges that lie ahead but we must not allow Mrs. Ma’s senseless murder to be in vain.”

“We applaud the initiatives that the city and this country have taken, but that’s not enough,” said Larry. “We call upon the city, and we call upon our country to do more to support the Asian American community during this time.”

Paul, Weiss lawyers involved in the pro bono representation of Mrs. Ma’s family include, among others, partners Brad Karp and Loretta Lynch, counsel Josephine Young, and associates Johan Tatoy, Megan Gao, Jennifer Kim and Chih-wei Wu.

» read The New York Times article