David Kim

Practice Areas

As Partner in Baker McKenzie & KL Partners International Arbitration Team, David Kim is highly regarded for his extensive experience in assisting clients with a broad range of international arbitration matters.

Mr. Kim's experience in international arbitration matters includes, among other things, acting as legal counsel for many different clients in various arbitration cases before the ICC, SIAC, ICSID, HKIAC, KCAB, and LCIA, as well as in ad-hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL rules. He has represented multinational corporations, government entities, defense contractors, and high-profile individuals in numerous commercial disputes related to construction, shipping, military contracts, energy and natural resources, telecommunications, intellectual property, and investor-state matters. Prior to commencing his professional work in 2008 as an arbitration practitioner in Korea, Mr. Kim worked as a litigator in Canada.

Mr. Kim has also previously served as an adjunct professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea, and is a faculty member for the Delos Dispute Resolution ROAP Asia.

Mr. Kim has been recognised as a leading practitioner by Chambers and Partners Global and Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific, which describes him as someone whose "advocacy is logical, persuasive and tempered", who "will go the extra mile to take care of his clients" and who is “the next-generation leader of the Korean arbitration world". David is also ranked in The Legal 500 and Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific as a "dispute resolution star” and was named as an "outstanding young partner" in Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific (2016). In 2019, Mr. Kim was named a "next-generation leader in arbitration" by the KCAB, the first time the Board has awarded such a distinction.

Career

David Kim is a Senior Partner in the Arbitration Group and is the Chair of the team’s Construction Dispute Resolution Group within the Arbitration Group. Mr. Kim is highly regarded for his expertise and extensive experience in assisting clients with a broad range of international arbitration matters. He has acted as legal counsel in cases before all major arbitral institutions, including the ICC, SIAC, ICSID, HKIAC, KCAB, VIAC, and LCIA, as well as in ad-hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL rules. He has represented multinational corporations, government entities, defense contractors, and high-profile individuals in numerous commercial disputes related to construction, shipping, military contracts, energy and natural resources, and telecommunications. As Head of the Construction Practice Group, Mr. Kim currently specializes in large-scale, complex construction disputes and also advises the team’s investor-state dispute matters.

Mr. Kim has been recognized as a leading practitioner by all the major legal publications including Chambers Global and Asia-Pacific, Who’s Who Legal, Legal 500,and Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific, and was named “next-generation leader in arbitration” in 2019 by the KCAB, the first time the Board has awarded such a distinction.

Prior to commencing his professional work in 2008 as an arbitration lawyer in Korea, Mr. Kim worked as a litigator in Canada. Mr. Kim has also served as an adjunct professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea, as well as serving as a member of the Council for International Arbitration of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) and as a sessional lecturer at the KCAB. Additionally, Mr. Kim currently serves on the panel of arbitrators for the KCAB, is a faculty member for the Delos Dispute Resolution ROAP Asia, is the former representative of the Asia chapter of the regional coordinating committee of the ICC young arbitrators’ forum, and is the former Co-Coordinator for the Young ICCA Mentorship Programme.

Professional Memberships

Alberta(Canada) Bar

Personal

University of Calgary (J.D., 2005); University of Alberta(B.Sc. 2001)