Overview
Miriam Kim focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and investigations, with an emphasis on intellectual property litigation, product liability and technology disputes.
She has represented clients in a range of technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, consumer devices and digital platforms.
Named one of the Top Trade Secrets Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, Miriam has extensive experience handling trade secret and employee mobility cases and investigations. She also has experience advising on copyright cases involving software and other IP matters for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Also named one of the Top AI Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, Miriam provides guidance to companies on a range of legal risks related to the development and use of AI. She co-chairs the firm’s AI Task Force and served as an AI fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology in 2023.
A leader in the legal profession, Miriam is secretary to both the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Justice & Diversity Center, which provides pro bono legal services to San Francisco residents. She is an active member of Christ Church East Bay.
Experience
Intellectual Property Litigation
Applied Materials in:
- A case against former employees alleging the misappropriation of trade secrets relating to the manufacturing of LEDs and lithium-ion batteries. Miriam also represented Applied Materials’ interests as the victim in a related criminal trial that resulted in the conviction of a former employee.
- A case against ASM International and a former employee alleging the threatened misappropriation of trade secrets relating to atomic layer deposition.
- A successful defense in a jury trial against claims of patent infringement brought by Axcelis Technologies.
Amgen in obtaining a favorable settlement on the eve of trial, including a mid-single digit royalty, to resolve a trade secrets dispute brought against Coherus BioSciences involving the drug Neulasta®.
Green Hills Software in its successful five-month arbitration of claims of copyright infringement and unfair competition relating to application programming interfaces.
Rambus in a two-week bench trial defeating Samsung’s claim for $400 million in damages offset from future patent infringement liability.
Checkr, Inc., in settling allegations of trade secrets theft, unfair competition and breach of contract brought by Safety Holdings, Inc., over Checkr’s alleged development of a competing platform. After the only trade secret identified in the complaint was shown to be publicly available online, the case settled on confidential terms.
TIBCO Software in successfully settling a suit against a vendor, Apttus, and former employees for the theft of trade secrets.
A venture capital firm and its partner in obtaining dismissal, with prejudice, of a lawsuit alleging trade secret misappropriation as well as CFAA, RICO and state law claims related to the alleged theft of IP by a startup founder who allegedly disclosed trade secrets to the venture capital firm in due diligence.
Complex Civil Litigation
Lyft in multiple cases alleging that drivers using Lyft’s platform should be treated as employees.
Intel Corporation in defending against allegations of breach of contract, breach of warranty and fraud brought by a Brazilian smartphone manufacturer.
LG Electronics in multi-district antitrust litigation based on an allegation that international manufacturers of cathode ray tubes conspired to fix prices.
Quotient Technology in defeating a temporary restraining order sought by Albertsons Companies seeking to compel Quotient to perform digital media and promotions services pursuant to a contract that was already terminated due to Albertsons’ material breach.
Mass Torts and Product Liability
Pacific Gas & Electric in coordinated civil cases filed by more than 9,000 plaintiffs asserting claims for property damage, economic loss and other relief arising from the 2019 Kincade Fire.
Intel Corporation in successfully settling, on the eve of trial, a consumer class action involving claims of unfair business practices with respect to the performance of Pentium 4 processors.
A food manufacturer in a case alleging failure to disclose certain levels of chemicals in products.
PepsiCo in a government investigation relating to the marketing of Gatorade.
Government and Internal Investigations
Pacific Gas & Electric in reaching historic settlements in criminal proceedings with six Northern California counties impacted by the 2019 Kincade Fire and 2021 Dixie Fire. Much of the settlement is to be invested in community programs to address economic development and wildfire risk.
California State Bar in an internal investigation of whistleblower claims that its CEO breached his fiduciary duties.
A technology company in an internal investigation involving the potential embezzlement of company funds and a vendor kickback scheme.
A technology company in an investigation of the alleged theft of competitor confidential information.
More
- Top AI Lawyers in California, Daily Journal, 2024
- Woman Leader in Tech Law (Litigation), The Recorder, 2024
- Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, San Francisco Business Times, 2024
- Champion of Justice award, OneJustice, 2024
- Women of Legal Tech honoree, American Bar Association, for her efforts to leverage AI to bridge the justice gap, 2024
- Top Trade Secrets Lawyer in California, Daily Journal, 2021, 2022
- Thought Leader, Corporate Counsel, Women, Influence & Power in Law award, 2019
- Best Lawyers Under 40, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), 2014
- Unity Award, Minority Bar Coalition, 2018
- Secretary, Justice & Diversity Center
- Christ Church East Bay
Miriam’s pro bono practice includes advising legal aid organizations on the use of AI to increase access to justice, as well as representing immigrants and victims of sexual abuse.
- Secretary, Bar Association of San Francisco
- Past co-chair, Northern District of California Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit
- Leadership Team, ChIPs Silicon Valley Chapter
- Past president, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
- Member, Korean American Bar Association of Northern California
Publications
- Quoted, “Legal Tech’s Predictions for Artificial Intelligence in 2025,” LegalTech News, Jan. 7, 2025
- Co-Author, “Generative AI and Legal Aid: Results from a Field Study and 100 Use Cases to Bridge the Access to Justice Gap,” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, Vol. 57, No. 4, January 2025
- Co-Author, “Trade Secret Law and AI: Navigating Emerging Risks and Legal Implications,” Daily Journal, July 24, 2024
- Co-Author, “How LLMs Can Help Address the Access to Justice Gap Through the Courts,” SSRN, Jan. 4, 2024
- “Strategies for Protecting Trade Secrets Amid Tech Layoffs,” Law360, Feb. 22, 2023
Speaking Engagements
- “Generative AI: Where Are We and What Legal Challenges Await Us?,” Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, July 2024
- “Generative AI in the Legal Profession in the Courts,” California Bench Bar Coalition, June 2024
- “Pier to Pier Networking: Ethical Guidelines and Practical Advice on Artificial Intelligence,” California Bankruptcy Forum Annual Insolvency Conference, May 2024
- “Trade Secrets Regulatory Session,” Trade Secrets IP Protection & Litigation West Coast Summit, April 2024
- “Artificial Intelligence and Pro Bono,” OneJustice California Pro Bono Conference, January 2024
- “AI and the Practice of Law,” Berkeley Stanford Advanced Patent Law Institute, December 2023
- “Managing AI from a Legal Perspective: Contract and Litigation Skills,” Berkeley Law AI Institute, October 2023
- “Generative AI: Your New Legal Assistant,” State Bar of California, October 2023
- “Trade Secrets Theft: Civil Litigation,” Sandpiper Sixth Annual Trade Secrets Protection, Enforcement, and Litigation Conference, San Francisco, January 2023
- “Strategies for Combating Implicit Bias,” Bar Association of San Francisco In-House Conference, January 2023
- “Litigating Before Magistrate Judges in the Age of Zoom,” Federal Bar Association, September 2021
- “Playing the Long Game: Building and Sustaining Genuine Professional Relationships,” California Minority Counsel Program, Women of Color Conference, May 2021
- “An Arbitration Debate: ArbiGREAT? Or ArbiHATE?” Association of Business Trial Lawyers, March 2021 “Civil & Criminal Trade Secret Litigation Strategies,” Northern District Practice Program, February 2021
