Professional Experience

She maintains an active litigation practice, primarily defending a wide range of clients in state and federal court actions—including class and collective actions—involving claims under the various civil rights laws and the wage and hour laws, and claims related to employment agreements, covenants not to compete, and trade secrets. Kim also regularly provides advice and training on employment law compliance and represents employers in state and federal government agency investigations.

Kim serves in firm management as leader of the Labor & Employment team and is fluent in Korean.

Kim’s more recent experience includes:

• Lead counsel defending a national transportation services provider in a wage and hour collective action. The Court declined to conditionally certify the plaintiff’s proposed collective and later granted summary judgment to the defendant on all claims.
• Lead counsel for a state-wide restaurant chain in a wage and hour lawsuit asserting both collective and class claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act. The Court granted summary judgment to the restaurant on the primary claim related to an alleged illegal tip pool and decertified the conditionally-certified collective action as to the remaining side work wage and hour claims.
• Co-counsel defending a regional mental health care provider and a regional oil and gas company in lawsuits alleging wage and hour law violations, including collective and class claims. The Court in each case denied the plaintiff’s motion for conditional certification of a collective action.
• Lead counsel for an Arkansas home care/health services company and a national crop insurance company in lawsuits alleging breaches of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements by former employees.
• Lead counsel for a regional trucking company facing an age and gender discrimination lawsuit. The Court granted the company’s motion for summary judgment.
• Lead counsel in numerous EEOC charges and DOL investigations alleging violations of federal anti-discrimination laws and wage and hour laws.
• Conducting internal investigations for private and public-sector employers.

Recognition

Kim serves on the Federal Practice Committee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. She was appointed to the committee in 2022 by the judges in that district, who also appointed Kim to serve as a member of the Merit Selection Panel for a United States Magistrate Judge position filled in 2023.

Since 2019, Kim has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America^© in the field of Employment Law–Management. Kim has also been recognized as a “Leader in their Field” by Chambers USA since 2016 and as a “Super Lawyer” in the area of Labor and Employment by Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2013. She has also been included in the Top 50: Arkansas Super Lawyers List since 2020.

In 2023, she was named to Arkansas Business’ “Arkansas 250,” recognizing the 250 most influential Arkansans in the business community. In 2018, Arkansas Business named Kim to its “40 Under 40” list of business and political leaders. Additionally, Kim was named to the inaugural Soiree Magazine list of “Women to Watch” in Central Arkansas and is a graduate of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Greater Little Rock program, Class XXVI.

Kim regularly presents or serves as a panelist at seminars on various employment law-related issues.

Community Involvement

Kim has served as a member of the Board of Directors for VOCALS (Volunteer Organization for the Center for Arkansas Legal Services) since 2009.