Category: Business & Economics

Karen Kim is Senior Counsel at QBE North America, part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, an international insurer and reinsurer headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Karen is part of the Business Unit Support legal team of QBE North America, headquartered in New York, and counsels the program’s business and loss control on a variety of legal, regulatory, and underwriting compliance issues. She is a member of the QBE Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) Business Resource Group and managed the QBE Legal Summer Internship Program.

Karen is President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and the theme for her term is “Embracing Wellness and Well-Being: Strengthening the Legal Profession by Investing in Ourselves.” She first became active with AABANY in 2012, as co-chair of AABANY’s Litigation Committee. She also helped organize AABANY’s first Trial Advocacy Program (TAP), served as Recording Secretary, and participated and volunteered in various AABANY programs and events.

She was previously active with the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY) and the International Association of Korean Lawyers (IAKL), where she served as President and Northeast Regional Governor, respectively, in addition to a variety of other leadership roles.

Karen obtained her B.A. with Honors from The University of Chicago and J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. She received the Queens Woman in Business Award from the Star Network, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Brooklyn Law School’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and the Cornerstone Award from Lawyers Alliance for New York, for her pro bono work.

In November 2016, Justice Judy H. Kim became the first Korean American elected judge in New York State. As an elected Civil Court judge, she served in the Manhattan Criminal Court for two years and then returned to New York County Civil Court in January 2019. In January 2022, she was promoted to Acting Justice of the Supreme Court in the New York State Supreme Court, New York County and presides over cases in the City IAS Part.

Prior to joining the judiciary, she served as an associate counsel and interim Section Chief in the Bureau & Estates Litigation Section of the New York Liquidation Bureau’s Legal Division from 2008-2016. She also spent several years in private practice, first at Kennedy Lillis Schmidt & English – a boutique maritime/admiralty law firm – and then at Snitow Kanfer Holtzer & Millus LLP, where she specialized in commercial litigation, employment discrimination, and matrimonial matters.

Justice Kim graduated from Tulane School of Law and was Notes and Comments Editor of the Tulane Journal of International & Comparative Law. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from The Spence School.

Brian W. Song is a Partner in the New York office of Baker & Hostetler LLP. Brian has broad experience as a commercial litigator, but focuses his practice on complex commercial disputes, securities litigation, and white-collar criminal defense. Brian began his legal career in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and served on active duty from 2003 to 2007. Brian has continued his military career in the U.S. Army Reserve and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Brian currently serves as a Governor on the Board of the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York. Brian is a former President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), serving from 2019 to 2020, and was a member of AABANY’s Board from 2017 through 2021. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association presented Brian with its “Best Under 40 Award” in 2016 and its “Military and Veterans Service Award” in 2023. In 2019, he was named “Minority Lawyer of the Year” by Chambers USA.

Brian received his B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University and his J.D., cum laude, from Boston University School of Law. Brian also received an L.L.M. in Securities Law and Financial Regulation with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center.

Dami Park is the Director of Business & Legal Affairs at Concord Music Group. She handles legal matters for Concord’s classical music publishing division, Boosey & Hawkes. Her key responsibilities include drafting and negotiating publishing agreements with composers, commission agreements for new works, and various rights clearance and licensing agreements. She advises on copyright laws and business practices regarding classical repertoire and related operations.

Previously, Dami was the General Counsel at KOTRA New York, where she led the intellectual property legal clinic, published seven books on the U.S. IP law and policy developments, and handled in-house and regulatory compliance matters for the Korean government agency’s North American headquarters. Before joining KOTRA, she worked at Rakower Law PLLC representing clients in commercial litigation. Dami’s pre-law school career includes managing music publisher accounts at the Harry Fox Agency to facilitate mechanical licensing transactions and royalty payments.

Dami holds a JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, an MA in arts administration at Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BM in musicology at Seoul National University.