Named by The Daily Journal as one of the Top Women Lawyers in California for 2018, Janet Hong is the newest addition to the WLALA Executive Committee for 2018-2019.  She previously served as the co-chair of the diversity committee for three years before being appointed to the EC.

Janet has a wealth of experience in criminal defense, having conducted over 40 jury trials in New York and California, including several homicides.  This past January, she won an acquittal on a murder and conspiracy to commit murder case for a 17-year old client in juvenile court.  She is a California State Bar certified criminal law specialist and she has represented thousands of individuals charged with all types of crimes in state, federal, and juvenile court.

She has been appointed by the Central District of California to represent federal defendants under the Criminal Justice Act and she is a member of a select group of attorneys who are appointed by the state and juvenile courts to represent adult defendants and minors who cannot afford a lawyer. She has been appointed to serve on the Criminal Law Section Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association.

In college, Janet majored in African-American Studies at Columbia University, earning the highest G.P.A. in her major.   She graduated from Columbia with high honors.  At USC Law School, she served as the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, competed in the Hale Moot Court Honors Program, and worked with inmates through the Post-Conviction Justice Clinic.

Giving back to the community is a big priority for Janet.  She regularly mentors law students and new attorneys in the practice of law. She is a volunteer judge for local college mock trial and law school moot court competitions, and she is a founding Board Member for The KW Lee Center for Leadership, a youth leadership organization in Koreatown that trains young people in the art of community organizing.

Janet is a former college basketball player, marathoner, triathlete, and a two-time Ironman Finisher.  She is a world traveler, having been to all seven continents, most recently to Antarctica.