Atlanta, Jan 21, 2021 – Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung Jin (BJay) Pak, who made headlines this month when he resigned just before the state's runoff election, is rejoining Alston & Bird as a litigation partner, the Atlanta-based firm announced.

Alston & Bird chairman and managing partner Richard Hays in a statement said Pak deepens the firm's reputation as “internal investigation counsel, white-collar defense, and other complex civil and criminal litigation.”

Pak, who starts at the firm next month, was not immediately available for comment.
He began his private practice career at Alston & Bird in 2000, the firm said, before becoming an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia, which includes Atlanta. He then served as state lawmaker and co-founded a boutique law firm, Chalmers Pak Burch & Adams.

Pak was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in October 2017, becoming the first Korean-American U.S. Attorney confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In that role he investigated the hack into credit reporting agency Equifax, one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history.

He resigned on Jan. 4, the day before a Georgia runoff election that would determine which political party controlled the Senate. He said in a statement at the time that he had done his “best to be thoughtful and consistent, and to provide justice.”

Pak's resignation drew attention because Donald Trump appeared to refer to him in a January phone call with Georgia's secretary of state, in which the then-president asked state officials to try to “find” enough votes to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

In a recording obtained by numerous media outlets, Trump appeared to complain during the call about Pak without naming him, saying there was a “Never Trumper U.S. attorney” in Georgia.

Pak in his Jan. 4 resignation statement thanked Trump and the Senate “for the opportunity to serve.” – Reuters Westlaw