April 30, 2024
Linda Choe Awarded 2024 Specialty Bar Leader of the Year
Linda Choe of the Office of Division Counsel at Fairfax County Public Schools has been awarded Specialty Bar Leader of the Year by the Virginia State Bar Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations (CLSBA). The award recognizes specialty bar association leaders “who have committed to offer important service to the bench, bar, and public.”
Choe served as both the 2021–2023 president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia (APABA-VA) and the 2019–2020 president of the Arlington County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.
As president of APABA-VA, Choe spearheaded efforts to raise the association’s profile and to connect with other organizations in support of the community. Choe worked diligently to recruit new officers, maintained APABA-VA’s social media presence, updated the association’s bylaws, and held monthly board meetings. On top of this, Choe took the lead in organizing several activities for members including, just to name a few, a Judicial Career Panel that was co-sponsored with other local bar associations, an annual park cleanup with Arlington County Parks and Recreation, volunteer events with the Arlington Food Assistance Center, and a CLE panel with Asian American judges that discussed the laws affecting Asian Pacific Americans in honor of Asian Pacific Heritage Month.
Two judges who were part of the CLE panel wrote letters of recommendation in support of Choe for this award: the Hon. Divani R. Nadaraja of the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court and the Hon. Dipti Pidikiti-Smith of the Fairfax County General District Court.
Judge Nadaraja credited Choe for increasing APABA-VA’s visibility in the legal community: “When I was a very young attorney, APABA-VA felt almost non-existent. I am just in awe of how far this organization has come and it is without a doubt due to Linda’s dedication and hard work.”
Judge Pidikiti-Smith similarly recognized Choe’s efforts: “Ms. Choe’s enthusiasm and energy to engage and unite our community is inspiring.”
As further evidence of her dedication to APABA-VA, Choe spent much of her tenure as president raising a newborn daughter, who was born in January 2022. Her devoted leadership helped APABA-VA win the 2023 Bar Association of the Year Award.
Current APABA-VA President Alexandra M. Lydon praised Choe’s commitment to the association: “Linda has been a steadfast presence who has always acted with kindness and humility. … She devoted endless hours to not only APABA-VA, but other organizations by which she was previously involved.”
Before becoming president of APABA-VA, Choe’s time as president of the Arlington County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section was similarly marked by success. She offered activities to members monthly, including a successful volunteer event in which she led over 50 young lawyers to organize and stock food pantry items at the Capital Area Food Bank.
Julia A. Yolles of Blankingship & Keith served with Choe on the Young Lawyers Section Board and noted, “[Choe] was friendly, thorough, and her dedication to community service and outreach was apparent in the activities she organized.”
In addition to Judge Nadaraja, Judge Pidikiti-Smith, Lydon, and Yolles, the CLSBA received nomination letters for Choe from Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk Christopher J. Falcon; Sarah L. Annear of the Office of the County Attorney, Fairfax; and Choe’s husband, James S. Abrenio.
Choe received her law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. The CLSBA will present the 2024 Specialty Bar Leader of the Year Award at its Annual Meeting and Awards Breakfast on May 31 at the Hilton Garden Inn Virginia Beach Oceanfront.