Our role as mentors is to guide... and show how to succeed
____________________________________________________________________________________ Lawrence
Kim | LG Chem
with finance, HR, and IT, all of whom share a workspace with legal.“ We sit in the same office as finance, HR, and IT,” he notes. That proximity supports open communication, yet it demands a deliberate effort to stay accessible.“ If teams don’ t trust you, they won’ t come to you, and that creates bigger risks,” he explains. He addresses that risk by positioning legal as a problem-solving partner.“ We focus on how to achieve their goals rather than blocking them,” he says.
Outside the company, Larry champions mentorship and professional development within the legal community. He serves as president of the Korean American Bar Association of Georgia.“ Many underrepresented attorneys are first-generation and lack networks and guidance,” he asserts.
Our role as mentors is to guide... and show how to succeed
He views mentorship as a way to build access and support.“ Our role as mentors is to guide them and show how to succeed,” he explains. His involvement extends to national organizations that connect professionals and students. Larry affirms,“ We’ re working at a national level to provide guidance and networking opportunities.” Larry’ s focus on alignment across teams reflects a perspective shaped across two cultures. He describes growing up between the US and Korea as having“ two lives, one here in the US, one there in Korea.” That perspective now informs how he works across regions, connecting expectations from headquarters with the realities of operating in the United States, while building systems and teams that can carry that work forward.
Within LG Chem, his priorities for the coming year focus on scaling systems and strengthening team resources.“ My focus is on efficiency and AI, including implementing Luminance and building Power BI dashboards,” he explains. He’ s focus extends to building pipelines for future talent.“ We’ re developing a summer internship program and engaging more with local law students,” he notes.
Larry’ s focus on alignment across teams reflects a perspective shaped across two cultures. He describes his upbringing as one in which he embraced both the US and Korea, drawing from each in different ways. Today, there is a certain symmetry in that experience as he works within a Korean company in a US context, bridging expectations across regions while helping the business move forward with clarity and consistency. ■ modern-counsel. com 125