(코리아타운뉴스) “We'll Become an Helpful Organization to the Korean Community"

New KABA president Justin Baek

Korean American Bar Association-San Diego has appointed lawyer Justin Baek of law firm Ferris & Britton as its new president.

Baek moved to San Diego from South Korea as a high school student and has since earned his bachelor's degree from UC Santa Barbara before attending California Western School of Law. Lee started as an ESL student in high school to taking AP classes after just two years. He is known for his passion and endless efforts.

Currently, Baek works for the same law firm he interned at during law school. His specialties include corporate transactions, commercial real estate deals and inheritance as he often defends corporations, individuals and investment firms.

"I feel proud to work as a president after becoming a member of the organization in 2010 as a student," Baek said. "During my term, I will work to create a wider network for Korean-American lawyers. I'm also going to seek ways for our organization to contribute to the betterment of the Korean-American community."

"When I first joined as a general member, my focus was on networking," Baek added. "Now, my focus is on working for the community and do meaningful work as a lawyer. The presidents before me have laid out a strong foundation. It's now tike for us to become closer with the community and I have the advantage of speaking fluent Korean."

"Our organization has the power to bring intelligent lawyers with various specialties together," Baek said. "Lawyers by nature have the will to use their talents for the community. My priority is to engage in a dialogue with them. Then, our first step could be a clinic or seminar for Korean-Americans to learn about various legal issues. I'm also going to make sure that those efforts aren't a one off."

Baek added: "Even though KABA-SD has existed, networking among Korean lawyers has not been very active. So the process of identifying the lawyers with certain expertise that a client may demand has not been prompt. I'm going to enable our lawyers to be able to exchange helpful information."

"My goal is to become a lawyer who can truly help the Koreans while also contributing to taking the Korean community in San Diego to a new height."


By Jungwon Seo