A poet and storyteller, Kim specializes in fighting for the underdog, using vibrant language and emotional connection to move jurors to help her clients. She brings intellectual rigor and emotional intelligence to her cases. Kim served as a trial lawyer at the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California for twenty years before joining MPTL. She is widely acknowledged by judges, colleagues, and adversaries to be one of the best trial lawyers to practice in federal court in Los Angeles. Kim is recognized for the relationships she builds with all players in the legal system and how she uses those relationships to her clients’ advantage. Kim brings the same client-centered approach and zealous advocacy to vulnerable plaintiffs as she did to criminal defendants. She listens and builds meaningful connections with clients and their families. Warm and engaging, she can talk to anyone. Kim is known for her irreverence and fearlessness in the face of powerful adversaries. Although tender with clients, Kim is a pitbull litigator.
As a public defender, Kim developed expertise in the impact of trauma on brain function, as well as a broad knowledge base about the autism spectrum and neurodiversity. As a graduate of the UCLA School of Law Public Interest Law Program with a concentration in critical race studies, Kim understands how institutions perpetuate injustice and how people’s lived experience of race, gender, and class contributes to their experience of pain.
Kim and Ashley became chosen family in 2008, when they attended the Trial Lawyers College. Kim joined the College faculty in 2010. Teaching is one of her great joys. She and Ashley often teach together at Trial Lawyers College seminars. Kim routinely applies her well-honed skills in the Trial Lawyers College methods, enabling her trial teams to bring their clients’ stories to life for jurors.
When she isn’t trying cases, Kim and her partner hike, travel internationally, go to museums and dance performances, and hang out with their daughter and her three dog siblings.
