KLC Hosts Career Advice Panel
On November 9, 2022, the Korea Law Center at UCI Law hosted a Career Advice Panel. The Panel featured Mr. June Yong Lee (Kim & Chang, Senior Foreign Legal Counsel) and Ms. Young Ham (Aptos Solar Technology, General Counsel/Controller), top U.S.-licensed attorneys who have had the experience of pursuing legal careers in the U.S. as well as Korea. The panelists discussed their experiences, achievements, challenges, and perspectives on what they believed to be important values in pursuing successful and fulfilling legal careers.
Mr. Lee opened the panel by discussing why he decided to enter the legal industry, how he began his legal practice in the U.S., why he made the decision to move to Korea and the many personal as well as professional challenges that he faced. He also emphasized the different cultural experiences that he has gone through as an attorney in both the U.S. and South Korea. In particular, Mr. Lee elaborated in depth on the unique work culture that makes his firm different from other firms in Korea as well as how these differences provide tasks that are challenging but also very enjoyable.
Ms. Ham then shared her experience which started as a successful CPA in Korea before making the decision to attend graduate schools and then establish her legal career in the U.S. Notably, she caught the attention of many attendees as she revealed how she faced the various challenges of being a successful attorney while also balancing her responsibilities to her family. Many in the audience were moved by the significant sacrifices she had to make to transition from her non-legal career in South Korea to that of an attorney in Orange County.
After the break, Mr. Lee and Ms. Ham answered questions from attendees. In this segment, they addressed queries regarding specific traits they believe are important for a U.S. lawyer pursuing a legal career in Korea to embody, what the panelists’ everyday work is like, and how their weekly / monthly / yearly schedules affect their perspectives on life. After the Q&A session, Mr. Lee and Ms. Ham joined the panel attendees at a mixer.