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 | Keynote Speaker: The Honorable Denny Chin U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit The Honorable Denny Chin
is a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was sworn in on April 26, 2010. Judge Chin is the recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award from Princeton University, the Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association, the Edward Weinfeld Award from the New York County Lawyers Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Judicial Friends, the Abely Award for Leading Women and Children to Safety from Sanctuary for Families, the Medal of Achievement from the Fordham Law Alumni Association, and the J. Edward Lumbard Award from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. |
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Special Recognition Award:
Sandra Leung General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Sandy Leung is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Bristol-Myers Squibb. She leads the worldwide Law Department and is responsible for a wide range of legal and regulatory areas including intellectual property, regulatory law, litigation, environmental, health & safety, corporate security, philanthropy and transactions including licensing, acquisitions and divestitures.
Sandy joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1992 as a staff attorney in the litigation department. She was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility and was elected Corporate Secretary in 1999. In September 2006, she was appointed Interim General Counsel. In February 2007, she was promoted to her current position.
Sandy began her legal career as Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York City where she was an original member of the Child Abuse Bureau. She ended her prosecutorial career, after trying more than 40 jury trials to verdict, as a member of the prestigious Homicide Investigations Unit where she conducted investigations of unsolved homicides linked with drug gang activity.
Sandy is on the board of directors of the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund and a trustee of the NALP Foundation. Sandy is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston College Law School. Additional Awards:
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| Judge Alvin T. Wong Pioneer Award: Managing Partner GAPABA created the Judge Alvin T. Wong Pioneer Award to recognize members whose outstanding achievements, commitment, leadership have paved the way for Asian and Pacific American (APA) attorneys. Its namesake, the Hon. Alvin T. Wong, was the first elected APA judge in the entire Southeast, when he won a contested race for the State Court of DeKalb County. Judge Wong is one of GAPABA's charter members. Han C. Choi is our 2015 recipient of the Judge Alvin T. Wong Award. Mr. Choi is Managing Partner of the Atlanta office of Ballard Spahr, LLP. One of Atlanta's first Asian Pacific American biglaw partners, Mr. Choi blazed a trail by becoming Georgia's first APA managing partner of a large firm. Practicing primarily in public finance, Mr. Choi has represented states, counties, cities, governmental bodies, financial institutions and private entities for the finance or refinance of governmental and quasi-governmental projects such as schools, courthouses, stadiums, hospitals, cultural, transportation and airport facilities. He has also represented clients in commercial lending, corporate finance, nonprofit law, economic incentives and general corporate law.
Mr.
Choi received his bachelor of arts in religion (magna cum laude) from
Northwestern University and his law degree with honors from Emory
University. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, he worked for
then-Governor Bill Clinton as an assistant for Health and Human
Services. For almost two decades, Mr. Choi has been a leader in the
legal, non-profit and Asian American communities in Georgia. Mr. Choi
is a former chair of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits and the Atlanta
Volunteers Lawyers Foundation. He served on the Emory Law School
Advisory Board. Mr. Choi currently serves on the boards of the Decatur
Education Foundation, the Korean American Bar Association of Georgia,
and Endowment Committee of North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Mr.
Choi has been a long-standing Board member and former President of the
Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, was one of the first
Asian Americans to serve on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of
Georgia, and is a former board member of the National Asian Pacific
American Bar Association (NAPABA). He chaired the Host Committee of the
highly successful 2011 National NAPABA Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Choi resides in DeKalb County with his wife Catherine and their three children. Career:
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