A Gainesville lawyer and a member of Hall County state legislative delegation are among 38 appointees to Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), which makes recommendations to Gov. Brian Kemp to fill vacancies in the state, superior appellate courts in Georgia.
Kemp’s office announced the appointments Friday.
Those with ties to the Gainesville area are:
*Jon Pope is a Gainesville lawyer and partner with Hasty Pope LLP, where he handles wrongful death and personal injury cases. Jon is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, where he served on the Executive Committee and as President of the Young Lawyers Division. He is a past President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and serves on the Board of Trustees of Riverside Military Academy and the Board of the Hall-Dawson CASA. Jon is a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Trial Advocates, Southern Trial Lawyers Association, and American Association for Justice. Jon and his wife, Amy, live in Gainesville and are members of the First Baptist Church of Gainesville. They have two children, Andrew, a junior at UGA, and Caroline, a freshman at Auburn.
*Soo Hong (pictured) is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. Hong’s district includes parts of Hall and Gwinnett counties. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she immigrated to Georgia when she was ten years old and is the first woman of Korean descent to serve in the House. Hong received her bachelor’s from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003 and J.D. from Mercer University School of Law in 2008. Hong is the founding partner at Blevins & Hong, PC with offices in Marietta and Duluth, Georgia. Her main practice areas include bankruptcy, personal injury, and criminal defense. She chaired committees with the Younger Lawyers Division of the State Bar and is currently serving the Cobb County Bar Association as the President-Elect, and previously served as the Secretary, Treasurer, and the President of the Younger Lawyer Committee. In 2015, Hong was the recipient of the prestigious Ross Adams Younger Lawyer Award. She serves as a member of the Gwinnett County Library Foundation Board, volunteers with the Cobb Justice Foundation, was a past instructor at Chattahoochee Technical College, and is a current member of Rotary Duluth.