Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Helen B. Kim as a partner in the securities and transactional litigation practice. She joins K&L Gates’ Los Angeles office from Thompson Coburn LLP, where she served as vice co-chair of the business litigation practice group.
Focusing her practice in securities litigation, Ms. Kim is a first-chair trial lawyer, representing public and private companies—as well as their directors, officers, and principal shareholders—in court and arbitration proceedings such as shareholder derivative suits, nationwide securities class actions, related opt-out litigation, and in various regulatory investigations. Her clients include global financial services firms, commodity brokers, financial services executives, media companies, and major manufacturers, among others.
John W. Rotunno, a Chicago partner and a leader of the firm’s securities and transactional litigation practice, commented: “Helen’s extensive experience representing publicly-owned and privately-held companies and their directors and officers in securities class actions and related regulatory investigations, as well as in the defense of associated derivative litigation under state law theories, further strengthens our accomplished securities and transactional litigation practice at the firm. We’re delighted that Helen has joined our team.”
She is the second litigation partner to join K&L Gates’ Los Angeles office since October 2020, following the earlier arrival of Mitch Kim, and the latest of nearly a dozen California-based lawyers the firm has added during the past year, also including intellectual property partner Mincheol Kim, real estate partner William Tate, and commercial litigation partners J. David Bournazian and Jonathan Hersey in Orange County and intellectual property partner Tom Anderton, corporate partner Ali Nardali, and asset management of counsel David Owen in San Francisco. They are among more than 30 partners who joined K&L Gates in 2020.
“We are pleased to have Helen join the L.A. office; as an experienced litigator, she will increase our capabilities in California and add depth to our national securities practice,” said Timothy Pierce, managing partner of K&L Gates’ Los Angeles office. “She is a highly regarded litigator with significant ties to the local business community and we look forward to working with her.”
Along with her legal practice, Ms. Kim has served as chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the Korean American Coalition; president of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association; and former assistant vice president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Pallavi Mehta Wahi, K&L Gates’ co-managing partner, United States, and chair of the firm’s global Diversity Committee, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Helen to the firm. Her deep experience in securities litigation further bolsters our already leading global litigation offerings, and her impressive leadership with organizations devoted to advancing the careers of diverse, women, and other lawyers is an inspiration to lawyers across our global platform.”
The firm’s securities litigation practice has successfully represented major public corporations, boards of directors and board committees, senior executives, investment banks, investment advisors, underwriters, venture capital firms, asset managers, and auditors, among many others, in litigation arising under both federal and state securities laws.
K&L Gates’ complex commercial litigation and disputes practice has the breadth, experience, and sophistication to successfully resolve matters ranging from simple commercial claims to complex multi-party, cross-border litigations and arbitrations. K&L Gates was recently recognized by Forbes as one of America’s most recommended corporate law firms in the area of litigation and dispute resolution as part of the publication’s first-ever legal industry review. The practice was also named a “Litigation Standout” in BTI Consulting Group’s 2020 Litigation Outlook report.
Source: www.klgates.com
