Hon. Alvin T. Wong

DeKalb County State Court

Alvin T. Wong was elected Judge of the State Court of DeKalb County in 1998. He was the first Asian Pacific American (APA) to run for public office in metro Atlanta and the first to be elected judge in the Southeast. Elected in a county where Asians made up less than 2% of registered voters, he has served continuously unopposed for 25 years. He served as Chief Judge in 2023 - 2024.

A former partner at Gambrell and Stolz (now Baker Donelson), Judge Wong had 21 years of experience as a corporate and trial attorney before running for office. He chaired the State Bar’s Investigative Panel for disciplinary action against unethical practices by Georgia attorneys. In 2004, he co-founded a DUI Court designated a model court in 2020.

His heart is in the community. He is past president of the Council of State Court Judges, the first APA president of any judicial council in Georgia history. He serves on the ABA House of Delegates, representing the Georgia Bar. And, he has volunteered on the boards of Fernbank Museum of Natural History, LifeLine Animal Project, and the NAPABA Law Foundation, mentoring future leaders as co-director of its Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition.

In May 2022, the State Bar awarded him its Commitment to Equality Randolph Thrower Lifetime Achievement Award. Other honors include the State Bar’s Tradition of Excellence Award and Thomas O. Marshall Professionalism Award; the Daily Report’s Professional Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award; and a NAPABA Trailblazer Award. In 2014, GAPABA (the Georgia Asian Bar which he co-founded) established its highest award, the Judge Alvin T. Wong Pioneer Award, in his honor.

Al Wong immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong at age 14. He lives in Brookhaven with wife Jeannie Lin, a strategic communications professional, their three cats, and Coco, a special-needs dachshund mix.