Leadership

About Hon. Judy H. Kim

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 elevated 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. 

Justice Kim has been an active JALBCA Board member since 2010. She was first introduced to the organization after an introduction was made by a mutual friend to a former judge and current board member who graciously agreed to speak with her immediately after she learned she had breast cancer at the age of 37.  At that time, she was an associate counsel at an agency and found it comforting to speak to someone about her situation and to obtain some important information, including that her medical insurance covered breast cancer treatment and care if received from a hospital considered a "Center for Excellence".  With this knowledge, she received treatment and since then all post-cancer care from one of these centers.

As a Board member, Justice Kim immediately joined the Survivor Committee and Grants Committee.  Later in 2015, she re-joined the board as a member and then as Secretary in 2018.  In 2022, she served as the Moderator of the 25^th Annual Ellen P. Hermanson Memorial Symposium and in 2023 she served as Executive Producer of the 26^th Annual Ellen P. Hermanson Memorial Symposium.  Justice Kim continues to serve on the Grants Committee that reviews and recommends the approval of mission-oriented organizations for grants and as co-chair of the Programs Committee. 

Justice Kim previously served on the board of the Stonewall Community Development Corporation (a non-profit that helps LGBTQ+ seniors find affordable, supportive and safe housing) and on the boards of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the Korean American Lawyers of Greater New York (KALAGNY) and the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY).  Currently, she serves on the board of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) and is a member of the New York City Bar Association's Diversity Pipeline Initiative Committee and its State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee.