Candidate for Vice President for  Communications

Personal Statement

For the past two years, I served as a Co-Chair of NAPABA's Solo & Small Firm Network. I am proud of the goals that the committee achieved, which included raising sponsorship funds from our own members, sending out over 150 referrals for business in one year, plans to participate in our first webinar scheduled for August 2015, and to help organize and present the Boot Camp at the national convention.

I now seek the honor of serving as NAPABA's Vice-President for Communications. I have served NAPABA since 2009, in other capacities, including as a President of APABA-MD, as a current Board Member of APABA-DC and its Chair of the Solo & Small Firm Forum, as Vice President of KABA-DC and as a member of the inaugural class, representing NAPABA at the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy.
My goals, if I have the honor of serving as VP for Communications, are: (1) to continue the important work on the current website, which has been redesigned to provide greater functionality and meaningful tools and resources for the 70 affiliates and nearly 40,000 members of NAPABA, (2) continue to increase publicity and awareness of NAPABA’s collective efforts, as well as, showcase the achievements of its member affiliates through NAPABA's newsletters; (3) continue to encourage and facilitate communication between the affiliates and their respective leaders and memberships and (4) coordinate NAPABA's external communications with the media.

For this position, I am in full support of NAPABA's two strategic plans in the following areas: 1) Assess alternative membership and affiliate models by implementing a new membership management database / web portal to manage membership information and member-only benefits (e.g. job postings) and 2) Enhance communications and develop the NAPABA brand. With the continued use of the new website, I look forward to learning about the functions available on it and how it operates in order to field questions from members, committees, affiliates and the leadership. A membership management database would be an incredible tool for connecting potential clients to attorneys who can be found through searches by practice areas, language abilities, region, years of practice, minority owned certification and/or women owned certification. I envision NAPABA's web portal to be the go to resource center for all potential clients and will work toward that goal.

In my 19 years of practice, I have developed and helped local affiliates create from ground zero, intra-sites or online repositories, to centralize resources, increase efficiency and to archive important work performed. I have devoted my time, financial resources and energy to these projects because it has truly been beneficial to me, both personally and professionally. On a professional level, in working closely with others, I have built a reputation of being a hard worker, someone who is dependable, decisive, organized and passionate about what I am involved in. And on a personal level, I have made dear friends from all over the country.

I would be honored to be a part of NAPABA’s continued growth and success. In working with the various Boards, I know that being a source of positive energy sets me apart from others. I bring with me optimism and the desire to be helpful. I have this attitude in my marathon training, in raising two small children and managing a law practice, while I volunteer my time to the various bar associations. I am hard-wired to get people to work together efficiently and effectively as a team, and I am extremely proud of that character trait. It will serve me well if I have the privilege of becoming NAPABA's Vice-President for Communications. Thank you for your consideration.

Candidate Bio

Sun E. Choi is the Founding Member and Managing Partner of The Metropolitan Law Group, LLC.  Ms. Choi earned her B.S. from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from American University.  Upon graduation from law school, she clerked for the late Chief Judge E.N. Hamilton of D.C. Superior Court in Washington, D.C. Ms. Choi then served as prosecutor at the State's Attorney's Office for Frederick, Maryland, before entering private practice.  Most recently, Ms. Choi was the first female Research Fellow and Lecturer invited by the Ministry of Justice for the Republic of Korea, at the Legal Research and Training Institute in late 2010 through mid-2011.  While there, Ms. Choi provided research and lectures to senior prosecutors regarding the jury system involved in U.S. Criminal Law and Procedure.  Ms. Choi is currently the Co-Chair of NAPABA’s Solo & Small Firm Group, the Vice President of the Korean-American Bar Association of DC, the Chair of APABA-DC’s Small Firm Forum, the former President of APABA-DC, a certified Zumba instructor, a marathon runner and a mother of 2.  She is a trial attorney with 19 years of practice and specializes in criminal defense and complex domestic matters in the DC area.

Endorse Sun

Endorsements will be accepted through September 1 and will be posted on the NAPABA website within one week of receipt of the form below.

Who may endorse?

• Any individual who is a NAPABA member in good standing may endorse any candidate
• Any bar association that is a NAPABA affiliate in good standing may endorse any candidate with confirmation of such endorsement provided by the current president of the bar association
• No individual or bar association will be permitted to endorse more than one candidate for the same office
• No current NAPABA Nominating & Elections Committee member or NAPABA staff member may provide formal endorsements of any candidate

What information should be provided with an endorsement to be shown on the NAPABA website?

• Individuals considering the endorsement of a candidate are strongly encouraged to endorse only with personal knowledge of the candidate, and any current work relationship with a candidate (e.g., colleague in the same firm or legal department) must be disclosed
• If permitted by the endorser's place of employment, all endorsements will include at least the endorser's place of employment, and if so, any list of endorsements may include a disclaimer that all work or organizational affiliations disclosed are for identification and disclosure purposes only, and do not constitute endorsements by those institutions
• NAPABA affiliate bar association endorsers should include the president and president's email address (email addresses of endorsers will not be made public)
• Endorsements shall not include any negative comments or personal attacks regarding other candidates

Endorsements

*All work or organizational affiliations disclosed are for identification and disclosures purposes only, and do not constitute endorsements by those institutions.