ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta attorney is making history as president of the Atlanta Bar Association. Amy Cheng is the first Asian-American woman to hold the title.
Cheng's family moved from Beijing, China to Charleston, South Carolina when she was 7 years old. She was an only child due to China's one-child policy. She said growing up in Charleston, she relied on family and tradition, characteristics common to Asian cultures.
"Coming from Asia to America, it was hard on my parents," Cheng said. "They just wanted to make sure they were set up for success in their careers, as well as making sure they dedicated all their resources and attention to me to make sure I became the lawyer and person I am today."
Cheng went to Emory University to complete her undergraduate degree before attending the University of South Carolina to get her masters in public policy. It was in Columbia where Cheng said she decided to attend law school. She would return to Emory School of Law to earn her J.D. degree. She now practices labor and employment law as a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.
"I think I'm making a small change, because I know that I'm helping people and leaders of companies who want to make sure they're always doing right by their employees in the field they're in," Cheng said. "That makes me feel good."
Now, the litigator is taking on a new challenge. Last month, she became the first Asian-American woman to be elected president of the prestigious Atlanta Bar Association, a 135 year-year-old legal organization.
"If you’d asked me when I was younger, I never thought I’d be the first Asian AAPI to do anything," Cheng told 11Alive."I’ve always wanted to live a quiet, good life and sort of be normal. But we have all these voices at the table, because as Atlanta continues to grow and diversify, it's important that the association is able to match that."
Tina Dorr, president of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, met Cheng a few years ago. GAPABA provides mentoring, networking opportunities, translation services and other legal resources primarily for AAPI attorneys and clients. Cheng serves on several GAPABA committees in addition to her role at the Atlanta Bar Association.
"Asian-Americans make up a very small fraction, our community is not represented in leadership positions in the legal community," Dorr said. "Now, I feel like I know a celebrity. I feel like Amy makes me one of the cool kids. Amy is going to make an incredible impact on our community, because young lawyers, women lawyers, Asian-American lawyers will be able to look to her and see someone like themselves in a leadership position.”
Dorr grew up in McDonough and struggled with her own Asian identity as a biracial woman. The intellectual property partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP said she's inspired by Cheng to create more opportunities for the AAPI community.
“Amy's an excellent communicator. She knows how to command a room," Dorr said. “By being strategic with the leadership on the board, I think it’s going to really open doors to different ideas, different trains of thought.”
Cheng said she will work to put more Asian-Americans in leadership positions to promote more diverse ideas, so that the local legal community can evolve with the rest of Atlanta. She said her election as president of the Atlanta Bar represents a new chapter in the organization's story and the community's story.
"Being able to help shed a light on how those differences make us all unique and better excites me," Cheng said. “It’s exciting to be the first AAPI president, but it’s also exciting to know that I’m hopefully not the last, that I’m the first but not the last. I’m going to be one of many.”