Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Beong-Soo Kim was appointed senior vice president and general counsel in July 2020. In this capacity, he oversees all of USC’s legal affairs and directs the Office of the General Counsel, which provides legal and strategic advice across all of USC’s administrative functions, schools, and departments, as well as Keck Medicine of USC. Reporting directly to the President, Kim works closely with the other members of her leadership team, the Board of Trustees, and stakeholders from across the university.
Before joining USC, Kim served for almost six years as vice president in the national legal department of Kaiser Permanente, where he advised senior leadership and the board on significant legal, regulatory, and compliance risks across all of its markets and operations. Kim led two practice groups, comprised of approximately 46 legal professionals, responsible for defending the organization in major litigation, investigations, and enforcement actions, and for providing legal and strategic counsel on a vast range of business and regulatory matters.
Earlier in his career, Kim served for nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, where he tried 20 cases, argued 20 appeals, and won numerous commendations for his work. He was ultimately promoted to chief of the major frauds section, a 36-attorney unit dedicated to investigating and prosecuting significant financial crimes across Southern California and the nation. Kim subsequently joined the partnership of Jones Day, where he represented major corporate, governmental, and nonprofit clients in high-stakes civil and criminal litigation, appeals, and investigations.
Kim began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and as an associate at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson. Throughout his career, Kim has been committed to advancing legal education — as a teaching fellow at Harvard University, an instructor at the National Advocacy Center, an adjunct professor at USC Gould School of Law, and a frequent panelist and speaker.
Kim holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College, a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He also completed the executive leadership program at Harvard Business School in 2016, and serves on the boards of several nonprofit community organizations.
Executive Administrative Manager
Denise Bearden