WHAT'S NEW
NAPABA 2008 Southeast Regional Conference Sponsors
We gratefully acknowledge the following valuable sponsors that made the Third Annual Southeast Regional Conference possible:
GOLD SPONSORS
Alston & Bird LLP
King & Spalding LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Troutman Sanders LLP
SILVER SPONSORS
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Jones Day
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P.
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
BRONZE SPONSORS
AT&T
AirTran Airways
The Coca-Cola Company
Hughes & Sloan, Inc.
Kim & Kert, Attorneys at Law
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP
Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley, L.L.P.
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC
GAPABA President Among Finalists for Atlanta City Attorney
Monday, October 2, 2006
Han C. Choi, the current President of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association ("GAPABA"), is among the
5 finalists to replace departing Atlanta City Attorney Linda K. DiSantis. GAPABA is very proud of Choi's achievement
of being selected to this elite group from several dozen applications. Choi, 40, is a partner at Troutman Sanders LLP and
practices bond and public finance law. Choi received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his law
degree from Emory University School of Law. Choi has a very long list of distinguished accomplishments, including working
as an assistant planner in the administration of then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. Choi is married and has 3 children.
GAPABA Denounces "Racist Shorthand" by
Andrew Young; Apology is Chance to Move Forward
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association ("GAPABA") was shocked and offended by comments from
Andrew Young, one of Atlanta's premier civil rights leaders and political giants, suggesting that Jewish, Korean
and Arab store owners "rip off" black communities. Stereotyping such as this, however unintentional, is seriously
detrimental to the Asian and Pacific American communities trying to live and work peacefully in Atlanta; for all ethnic
communities living in the shadow of misperceptions, this is a disappointing step backwards in racial and ethnic relations.
Young has since apologized, explaining in an interview with the Chicago Tribune on August 18, 2006 that
"I was attempting to say that these large shops have been good for my community, and in this meeting I said it too
quick. And instead of giving a long explanation, it was a racist shorthand, which was wrong" and in the Atlanta
Journal Constitution that his comments were "completely and utterly inappropriate. ... I apologize for those comments.
I retract those comments. And I ask for the forgiveness of those I have offended."
The GAPABA board of directors acknowledges Young's apologies, including a formal written apology in yesterday's
Atlanta Journal Constitution, in which Young asks for forgiveness, and in a meeting with Korean American community
leaders yesterday afternoon. GAPABA appreciates Andrew Young's great history of contributions to the civil rights
movement and to the City of Atlanta, and recognizes that even the most thoughtful of public figures misspeak.
GAPABA is concerned, however, that others have publicly defended Young's statements as merely unfortunate "shorthand"
for addressing important socio-economic issues that deserve to be addressed. In actuality, statements like these, and support
for such statements, reveal deeply rooted subconscious prejudice against Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities
that must be addressed head on with genuine efforts to work with the Asian Pacific American community and other affected
communities, particularly here in Atlanta. GAPABA believes that Mr. Young's apologies are genuine, but they are merely
a first step in the difficult journey toward greater communication and understanding among communities. GAPABA and
the Asian Pacific American community looks forward to working with Mr. Young and others to, as Mr. Young so aptly put it,
"build a better world together."
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