2015 Keynote Speakers

Guest Speaker Judge Meng H. Lim of Georgia

I was born in Cambodia, a few years before the horrible civil war there that resulted in the genocide of millions of Cambodians. I lost a brother and maternal grandmother during that time. I was taken away from my parents, as were all children, and placed in a labor camp to work from dawn till dusk instead of attending school. My family escaped the Pol Pot regime and fled into Thailand’s refugee camp where we stayed for over a year, later in Indonesia for another six months before coming to America.

We landed in Atlanta because a Jewish organization sponsored us and we settled in west Georgia, because my parents and family encountered many problems, from language barriers to cultural changes and financial issues. I ended up in foster care. I graduated from Bremen High School as valedictorian and attended Emory University and finally Mercer Law School.

After graduation I returned to my adopted hometown to work, first for the local judges, then for Thomas B. Murphy and eventually opened my own law office. I tried hard to remember and appreciate what America has done for my family and tried to help the people in the community the best I could in my professional life. In turn, they supported me when I ran for judicial office as superior court judge. I ran against three other candidates in a contested election. When I won, I became the first Asian-American superior court judge in the State of Georgia. I look forward to serving my community and the wonderful people that helped my family through the years.

Honored Guest Massachusetts Attorney Maura Healey

Maura Healey began serving as Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in January 2015 after winning her first-ever run for elective office. At her inauguration ceremony at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, Maura vowed to lead an office guided by her core values and driven by the health care and energy costs to protecting consumers, ensuring equality for all and keeping our communities safer.

For seven years prior to her election, Maura helped lead the Attorney General’s Office, ultimately overseeing more than half of the office’s 500 employees as Chief of the Public Bureau. Earlier in her career, Maura was a prosecutor in Middlesex County and a litigation partner at WilmerHale, one of Boston’s most prestigious law firms.

Maura grew up in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire and graduated from Harvard where she majored in government and was captain of the basketball team. After college she spent two years as a 5’4″ starting point guard on a professional basketball team in Austria before returning to attend law school at Northeastern University.