Ed Kim, co-founder of the firm, is regularly called upon to represent and advise senior executives, boards of directors, and multinational institutions in their most serious and consequential matters. Ed leverages his senior leadership experience at the U.S. Department of Justice and his extensive experience in private practice to represent clients in high-stakes litigation, criminal and regulatory enforcement actions, and crisis management.
Ed recently served as the Acting United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he oversaw all litigation conducted on behalf of the United States and supervised more than 450 lawyers, investigators, and staff across the SDNY’s criminal and civil divisions.
Ed is an accomplished trial lawyer who has tried a dozen cases, supervised dozens more, and has briefed and argued numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has represented multinational companies in complex civil disputes and enforcement actions, and individuals in criminal and regulatory matters involving allegations of securities and financial fraud, antitrust violations, cryptocurrency fraud, insider trading, healthcare fraud, money laundering and FCPA violations. He has successfully conducted numerous internal investigations.
Ed returned to KKL in March 2025 after his most recent leadership roles with the Department of Justice. Prior to co-founding KKL in 2017, Ed served as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, twice winning the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, as well as other distinctions. Earlier in his career, he practiced at a major international law firm, and, before going to law school, worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company.
+ REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
• Represented the CEO of a cryptocurrency company in an investigation being conducted by the DOJ. The DOJ issued a target letter but did not prosecute.
• Conducted an investigation for a publicly traded company of potential theft of trade secrets.
• Represented the former CEO of a global manufacturing company in an antitrust prosecution brought by the DOJ. The case was resolved without requiring KKL’s client to come to the U.S.
• Represented executives of a publicly traded biotechnology company in a False Claims Act investigation conducted by the DOJ.
• Negotiated a successful resolution for a hedge fund in a multimillion-dollar employment dispute.
• Represented a biopharmaceutical researcher in a multi-jurisdictional trade secrets dispute involving litigation to obtain evidence for use in a foreign proceeding and testimony before the Court of International Trade.
• Represented a former Cabinet-level foreign official in a money laundering and FCPA prosecution by the DOJ. Secured an acquittal of a money laundering charge against our client after a jury trial.
• Represented the former CEO of a publicly traded petrochemical company in a money laundering and FCPA prosecution brought by the DOJ. As part of the resolution, the DOJ allowed the transfer of KKL’s client to custody in his home country.
• Represented the former CEO of a publicly traded real estate and title insurance company in an antitrust investigation by the Office of the New York State Attorney General. The investigation resulted in no action being taken against our client.
• Represented financial services executive in an insider trading investigation brought by the DOJ and the SEC. The investigation resulted in no action being taken against our client.
+ PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
• Enforcement Related to Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets (ABA White Collar Crime Institute, March 2025)
• Criminal and Regulatory Enforcement Concerns for Corporate Directors (PLI Twenty-Second Annual Directors’ Institute on Corporate Governance, November 2024)
• Cryptocurrency: Emerging Issues and Enforcement Trends (PLI White Collar Crime 2022: Prosecutors and Regulators Speak, September 2022)
• Cryptocurrency: Entering a New World of Regulations and Enforcement (ABA White Collar Crime Institute, March 2022)
• Cryptocurrency – Virtual Assets, Real Enforcement Issues (Cambridge Forums, October 2021)
• New Options for Foreign Defendants Facing U.S. Charges (KKL Alerts, September 2021)
• U.S. Authorities Double Down on SPAC-Related Investigations (KKL Alerts, August 2021)
• Cryptocurrency Enforcement Trends (ABA International Criminal Law Committee, July 2021)
• The Global Reach Of The DOJ: Investigative Tools And Statutes Applied In Cross-Border Investigations (New York State Bar Association, February 2021)
• RMBS Redux? Navigating the Impending CLO Crisis (KKL Alerts, July 2020)
• Perils Facing Chinese Scientists and Technology Professionals in the U.S. (Chinese Association for Science and Technology, October 2019)
Edward Y. Kim
Attorney
EDUCATION:
J.D., Harvard Law School
cum laude
A.B., Brown University
magna cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa
CLERKSHIPS:
Hon. Naomi Reice Buchwald, U.S. District Court, SDNY
GOVERNMENT SERVICE:
Acting U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, SDNY
Deputy U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, SDNY
Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, SDNY
Chief, Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit
Chief, General Crimes Unit
ADMISSIONS:
New York
U.S. District Court, SDNY
U.S. District Court, EDNY
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit