Lunch Series: Judge Alvin T. Wong, State Court of DeKalb County

Lunch with Judge Alvin T. Wong

State Court of DeKalb County

Best and Worst Practices in the Courtroom

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015

12 PM - 2 PM

State Court of DeKalb County

556 N. McDonough St.

Courtroom 2D

Decatur, GA 30030

Contact:

Lilia Kim

About Judge Alvin T. Wong:

The Honorable Alvin T. Wong was elected Judge of the State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia’s third largest county, in 1998. He was the first Asian Pacific American (APA) to run for public office in metro Atlanta and is the first APA to be elected judge in the Southeast. Judge Wong was elected in a county where APAs made up less than two percent of registered voters and has served continuously unopposed for more than a decade. A former partner at Gambrell & Stolz (now Baker Donelson), Judge Wong had 21 years of experience as a corporate and trial attorney before running for office. He chaired the State Bar of Georgia’s Investigative Panel for disciplinary action against unethical practices by Georgia attorneys. His most recent project has been to create a DUI Court to treat chronic alcohol addiction. His heart is in the community. Judge Wong serves on the boards of the Fernbank Museum of Natural History and the NAPABA Law Foundation. He has mentored future leaders, as co-director of NAPABA’s Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition and a volunteer with civic organizations dedicated to helping teens avoid drugs, pregnancy, and unemployment. Judge Wong has received many awards for service, leadership, and trail-blazing, including the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award by Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School; OCA’s “Citizen of the Year 2000”; and a 1997 NAPABA Trailblazer. In 2013, the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) created the Judge Alvin T. Wong Pioneer Award, in honor of his groundbreaking work paving the way for APA attorneys in Georgia and the South.  The first two recipients of the Award included Bobby Woo (the first APA Partner at a large firm, King & Spalding), and KABA-GA's own Han Choi (the first APA Managing Partner of a large firm, Ballard Spahr).

Judge Wong immigrated to the US from Hong Kong at age 14. He lives in Atlanta with wife Jeannie Lin, a creative communications consultant, two cats, and a dachshund.