Young J. Kim
Mr. Kim practices corporate, securities, mergers and acquisition, and intellectual property law. His experience includes mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, initial public offerings, venture capital and private equity investments, cross-border transactions, and software and other intellectual property license transactions. He serves as the outside general counsel for companies, counseling and advising their businesses in an array of industries, including navigating through SEC and other regulatory requirements. Mr. Kim’s clients are in software, hardware, Internet, ecommerce, security, semiconductor, online gaming, rich media, manufacturing, retail and other intellectual property focused businesses.
Professional Experience
Young J. Kim was previously the co-founder and managing partner of a Los Angeles-based boutique law firm, specializing in complex transactions. He started his legal career at Latham & Watkins, and previously served as the General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Video City, Inc., a publicly held retailer. Mr. Kim also served as the in-house Corporate Counsel for LRN Corporation, a software as a service (SaaS) provider, through its industry-leading growth among its Fortune 500 customers.
Languages
Mr. Kim lived in Korea and Malaysia for seven and four years, respectively, and speaks and reads Korean.
Corporate Transactions
- Sale of Brookstone business of Apex Digital to Hudson Group
- Sale of eCivis Inc. to GTY Technology Holdings Inc.
- Sale of Volutone to SnapAV
- Sale of Awesome OS, Inc. to Transcom Holding AB
- NHN Global, Inc. in acquisition of LA Showroom.com, Inc
- Worldex Industry & Trading Co. Ltd in acquisition of West Coast Quartz Corporation
- Airborne Biometrics Group, Inc. investment by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P.
- Ostendo Technologies, Inc. acquisitions of Blue Photonics, Inc. and Technologies and Devices International, Inc.
- OSI Systems, Inc. $50 million initial public offering on NASDAQ
- New Pride Corporation’s $12 million initial public offering on KOSDAQ, the first initial public offering in Korea by a U.S. company
- Video City, Inc. sale of all assets to Movie Gallery Inc
- Consolidation of over 20 commercial real estate investments in U.S. on behalf of Hong Kong-based investor
Technology / Intellectual Property Transactions
- As the lead in-house counsel at LRN Corporation, instrumental in responding to RFPs and working through the procurement process and completing SaaS license and professional services transactions with over 50 of the Fortune 500 customers including Johnson & Johnson, DuPont, Ford Motor Company, The Dow Chemical Company and 3M Company. Mr. Kim also took the lead in licensing content and other intellectual properties necessary to service LRN’s fast growing SaaS business.
- Structured and completed customer license and services agreement for a biometrics security company, including agreements with governmental agencies and national retailer
- Lead counsel for NextGate Solutions, Inc. in connection with software license and professional services transactions with major hospitals and other healthcare organizations
- Negotiated and closed patent license agreement between IBM and a medical device client
- Lead counsel for AhnLab, Inc., Korea’s most prominent antivirus and online security company
Mr. Kim authored a number of professional publications and participated in speaking engagements including:
- “Holiday Shoppers Beware! You May Want to Know How Your Information is Being Used Before You Click Purchase” speaker, California State Bar Approved MCLE, December 2016
- “Select Issues in Acquiring a U.S. Business” speaker, California State Bar Approved MCLE, October 2015
- “M&A and Corporate Transactions” speaker, Annual Conference of International Association of Korean Lawyers, October 2014
- “Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act): Choices for Foreign Companies,” author, Business Law News of the State Bar of California, Issue 2, 2013
- “Doing Business in Asia: Tips for Legal Practitioners,” co-author, The National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms, Volume 5 Issue 1, May 2013
- “Cross-Border M&A and Finance Transactions,” speaker, Annual Conference of International Association of Korean Lawyers, September 2012
- “Major Securities Exchanges Require Reverse Merger Companies to Add More Seasoning,” author, Business Law News of the State Bar of California, Issue 2, 2012
- “From the Trenches: Marketing, Ethics and Avoiding Investor Scams,” speaker, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Immigration Law Section Seminar, February 2012
- “Taking Stock in Your Client: Strengthening the Client Relationship and Avoiding Pitfalls,” co-author, Business Law News of the State Bar of California, Issue 1, 2008
- “Advising and Defending Corporate Directors and Officers,” contributing author, California Continuing Education of the Bar Publication for Practicing Lawyers, 1998