President: Janet Shih Hajek
Janet Shih Hajek is an associate in Greenberg Traurig's Tyson's Corner, VA office. She works in the Intellectual Property practice group and focuses her practice on trademark, copyright, unfair competition, ecommerce, advertising law, domain name dispute resolution and litigation. Janet has experience in representing clients in many industries, including e-commerce, media, a variety of consumer goods and food products, medical devices and various service industries. In addition, she counsels clients on the availability and registration of trademarks and assists clients in securing trademark registrations in the U.S. and throughout the world. Janet graduated from The George Washington University Law School in 1999 where she was president of the Moot Court Board and a member of the Environmental Lawyer law journal. She also graduated from The American University in 1995, cum laude, with a degree in International Service.
President-Elect: Robert Wone
Robert E. Wone is an associate with Covington & Burling, focusing on employment law and real estate. He joined the firm after serving as law clerk to the Honorable Raymond A. Jackson, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. Robert’s real estate experience includes providing advice in acquisition, disposition, and leasing projects. In employment law, Robert has litigated in administrative forums on behalf of a major university and a local governmental agency, as well as reviewed and drafted employee manuals for two non-profit organizations. In 2003, Virginia Governor Mark Warner reappointed Robert as a member of the Governor’s Commission on National and Community Service, advising the Governor and other state agencies on community service issues. In addition to APABA, Robert also serves as a member of the American Bar Association’s Public Education Division Advisory Commission and he has spoken for the past three years at the American Bar Association’s Minority Judicial Clerkship program. Robert received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1999 and his A. B. in public policy from The College of William & Mary in Virginia in 1996. Robert was born and raised in New York City. He is admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia and New York State. He is married and resides in Arlington, Virginia.
VP for Communications: Luke Bellocchi
Mr. Luke Bellocchi is currently Majority Counsel at the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. Prior to that, he worked at the U.S. Department of State as an Attorney Advisor dealing with visa and citizenship issues, and as part of the Executive Secretariat staff. He has worked in the private sector at Wasserman, Mancini, & Chang, PC as an associate, and at an overseas international law firm, Baker & McKenzie, Taipei. In 1993 and 1994, he also worked on judicial and civil service reform projects at the World Bank. Mr. Bellocchi received his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Rochester, his JD at the State University of New York, an LLM at Georgetown Law School, and an MS degree at the Joint Military Intelligence College. He is a lifetime member of MENSA.
Vice President for Community Affairs: Raymond Rull
Raymond Rull is a staff attorney with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program’s Community Economic Development (CED) Project. At the CED Project, Raymond works with community-based nonprofits and small businesses that seek pro bono legal assistance. Raymond is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law and the University of California at Irvine.
Vice President for Membership: Jovanna Bello
Jovanna V. Bello is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Dewey Ballantine LLP. She works in the Tax practice group and focuses on corporate tax and taxation of financial products and tax-exempt bonds. Ms. Bello received her B.A. from the University of Virginia, cum laude, in 1997; J. D. from the American University Washington College of Law, cum laude, in 2000; and LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, with distinction, in 2005. Prior to serving as the Vice President of Membership, Ms. Bello was the chair of the Practicing Attorneys Resource committee. Ms. Bello also served as the chair of APA Service Corps and board member of the Northern Virginia chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, Inc., a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) non-partisan, educational and civil rights organization.
Vice President for Programs: Sanya Sukduang
Sanya Sukduang is a member of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP’s Biotechnology/ Pharmaceutical Practice Group. His practice includes patent litigation, prosecution, and opinion work, with a focus on pharmaceutical patent litigation. Prior to joining the firm, he gained technical experience in the area of protein synthesis at Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Analytical Biotechnology Services. While in law school, he worked as a law clerk with the firm. Admitted: 1999, Maryland; 2000, District of Columbia; registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: American University, Washington College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1999); Boston College (B.S., Biology, 1996). Association Involvement: Asian Pacific American Bar Association Education Fund (Board of Directors, 2000-2002); Maryland Patent Law Association (Vice President, 2001-present); American Intellectual Property Law Association.
Secretary: Khouane Ditthavong
Khouane Ditthavong is an associate at King & Spaulding in the Tort and Environmental Litigation Practice Group in Washington, D.C. His practice focuses on products liability, toxic tort, environmental litigation, regulatory counseling and corporate environmental due diligence. Prior to joining King & Spalding LLP in 2003, Mr. Ditthavong was an environmental scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water. While there, he developed regulations under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act to incorporate new environmental monitoring technologies and helped to establish effluent limitations and guidelines for nine industrial categories. Mr. Ditthavong also presented more than 16 papers at various national conferences and seminars on topics ranging from protocols for validating analytical test methods to options for streamlining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s compliance monitoring program. Mr. Ditthavong received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law where he was a member of the American University International Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Science in biology from Georgetown University. Mr. Ditthavong is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; his application for admission to practice in the District of Columbia is pending. Recent Article by Mr. Ditthavong: "New European Chemicals Policy Imperils U.S. Economic Growth" (co-authored with Jane C. Luxton and Philip A. Moffat), Washington Legal Foundation's Legal Backgrounder (Vol. 18, No. 33), August 8, 2003.
Treasurer: Tony Lin
Tony Lin is an associate in Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman's communications group and is actively involved in providing regulatory assistance to clients before the Federal Communications Commission. He also assists clients before federal appellate courts on communications related matters. Prior to entering the practice of law, he taught courses in economics at Southern Illinois University. Mr. Lin received his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1991; J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, with High Distinction, in 1995, and received his M.A. in Economics and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Iowa in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
Immediate Past President: Eugene F. Chay
Eugene F. Chay is an Attorney Advisor in the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Public Debt. He advises Bureau personnel on all pertinent matters, including matters related to government securities, privacy issues, electronic data management, and EEOC matters. He previously worked as a litigation associate in the Washington office of Kirkland & Ellis, where his practice focused on general commercial litigation and intellectual property matters. He has worked on securities litigation, antitrust litigation, and product liability matters, as well as litigation arising from patent infringement, copyright infringement, and trademark infringement. His work has involved medical products, yachts, the Internet and motion pictures. A former treasurer of APABA and a former Board member of the APABA Educational Fund, Eugene is proud to have served APABA as its president from 2004-2005. He graduated from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1998, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. He was an editorial board member of the American University Law Review and a Dean's Fellow in the Legal Methods Program. Eugene is fluent in Korean.
Newsletter Editor: Cecelia A. TaBois
Cecelia A. TaBois is in private practice in Virginia, concentrating in the areas of estate and trusts, taxation, and business consulting. Prior to establishing her own practice, she worked at ExxonMobil Corporation (Mobil Oil), where she gained extensive experience in the oil industry in the areas of Legal and Financial Analysis, Financial Accounting, Taxation, project development and implementation of financial and tax reporting systems. However, it was her clinical experience in providing legal services to indigent clients at Community Legal Services Clinic in Washington, D.C. that crystallized her commitment to provide quality legal services to clients on a humane and personal level. Ms. TaBois received her M.S. in Accounting from Hunter College (CUNY), her M.B.A. from Pace University in NYC, and her J.D. from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
NAPABA Southeast Regional Governor: The Hon. Brian KimBrian G. Kim is a judge of the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he coaches the Thomas Tang National Moot Court team. He grew up in the Los Angeles, California, area, obtained his BA at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and JD from Boston College Law School. After law school, Judge Kim served as an Assistant Attorney General, concentrating in civil litigation, and became Deputy Counsel to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. In Montgomery County, Maryland, he was an associate county attorney, involved in self-insurance litigation, and counsel for the Montgomery County Office of Procurement and the Office of Information and Technology. In the private sector, Judge Kim was a litigation associate with the Rockville, Maryland, law firm of Stein, Sperling, Bennett, De Jong, Driscoll & Greenfeig, P.A.
Practicing Attorney’s Resource Chair: May C. Lee
May C. Lee is a Transactional Attorney with Maple Life Financial Inc., where she manages the company’s life settlement closing transactions. May is responsible for ensuring that the company is fully in compliant with legal agreements and regulatory requirements. She handles life settlement, insurance, corporate, trust and compliance issues in addition to conducting due diligence investigations. May currently serves on the DC Bar’s Membership Committee and several subcommittees including Membership Policies and Operations, Financial Services, Insurance and Legal Research, and Telecommunications, Office Administration and Other Programs. May is also a board member of the Washington Metropolitan Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners and a member of the Georgetown Alumni Club Community Service and Lecture Series committees. May received her Bachelor of Science from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She earned her Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law. May’s previous experience includes interning for the late Congressman Bruce Vento (MN) and the late Senator Paul Wellstone.
Women's Forum: Young Cho
Young H. Cho is an associate at Braude & Margulies in Washington. Her practice is focused on government contracts and construction law. Prior to joining the firm, she was a law clerk to the Honorable Melvin R. Wright at D.C. Superior Court. Young completed her undergraduate studies in Korea and received her degree from Ewha Womans University, cum laude, in 2001, in Political Science and Diplomacy (major) and Economics (minor). Young is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School, where she received her J.D., with honors, in 2004. During law school, Young served on APALSA as treasurer and also served on the student editorial board of the Public Contract Law Journal as articles editor. She was also an active volunteer at and served on the Executive Board as Secretary of the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center.
Partners’ Forum: Keth Ditthavong
Keth Ditthavong is a co-founder of Ditthavong & Carlson, P.C., established in 2000. Keth concentrates his practice in patent preparation and prosecution as well as patent counseling. He has drafted over two hundred patent applications for domestic and foreign companies. He also worked as an attorney for the law firms of Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C. and McDermott, Will & Emery. Prior to his law career, he worked as a Senior Systems Engineer in the area of voice and data communications with the Bell Atlantic Corporation (now Verizon), and as a Senior Member of Technical Staff with the MITRE Corporation. Keth received his J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in 1997. He also has both a master's degree from George Washington University and bachelor's degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in electrical engineering. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and ETA KAPPA NU.
Judicial Nominations Committee Chair: John C. Truong
John C. Truong is an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Previously, he was an associate with Morgan Lewis in the Antitrust Practice, where his practice was focused on civil and criminal antitrust litigation, with a concentration in multidistrict, complex litigation in both federal and state courts. He served as a law clerk to Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. John was managing editor of the Washington College of Law’s American Jurist magazine, was a senior member of the American University Journal of International Law and Policy, and received a merit graduate fellowship to work as a research assistant for Professor Mark Sherman at the American University School of International Services. Mr. Truong received a Master’s degree in International Service. He is also an International Teaching Fellow at George Washington University Law School. John was born and raised in Vietnam and is fluent in Vietnamese. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
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