Kate Kim Tuma

Widely regarded as a pragmatic problem-solver, Kate is frequently called upon to identify critical resources and develop tailored solutions to meet automotive companies’ evolving needs. In addition to her transactional practice, she advises on multijurisdictional internal investigations, pre-dispute, and litigation matters, and works closely with the firm’s arbitration and trial teams on antitrust, complex commercial, distressed asset and project finance disputes. For over five years, she successfully defended one of the world’s leading packaged food companies in a global antitrust investigation and lawsuit. She also served as the interim director of litigation and associate general counsel for a publicly traded Japanese financial group from 2019 to 2020, further deepening her client-focused perspective and fully integrated, comprehensive approach to providing value added services.

Kate’s global insights are rooted in nearly a decade spent as an associate and partner in the firm’s Tokyo and Seoul offices (2008-2017). Now based in Los Angeles, she is one of the few women leading a global law firm’s automotive industry group. She was recently named a 2024 Law Firm Visionary by the Los Angeles Times, and she and her team members are consistently recognized for excellence by Chambers, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and Legal 500 Asia Pacific.