Areas of Practice

  • Litigation
  • Municipal Law

Education

  • J.D., Loyola Law School, Los Angeles 2007
  • Poehls/Hobbs Trial Advocacy
  • Top Ten Briefs, Moot Court Competition
  • First Honors, Trust and Wills
  • B.A., Political Science, B.S., Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley, 2002
  • Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honors Society

Admissions

  • California Supreme Court
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California

Professional Affiliations

  • State Bar of California

Helen O. Kim joined Jones & Mayer in September 2024 as a Litigation Attorney.  Her primary practice areas include litigation of civil rights actions, police representation, tort defense, and personal injury claims. 

Ms. Kim was a Deputy District Attorney in the County of San Diego for nearly 17 years prior to joining the firm.  During her years as a prosecutor, she tried numerous serious and complex cases including first-degree murders, life-top cases, as well as high-profile media cases.  She was assigned to the CAPO unit where she tried criminal cases involving crimes against police officers where officers were seriously injured during the scope of their duties. As a Senior Deputy District Attorney, Ms. Kim was a team leader that supervised other attorneys in the office, and routinely trained law enforcement officers relating to issues of detention, search and seizure, and arrests. 

As a prosecutor, she was a member of the Korean Prosecutors Association where she was selected to travel to South Korea on several occasions to meet Korean prosecutors from all over the world.  She was also a member of the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association and the National District Attorney Association. 

She is active in the community and was an attorney coach for high school students in San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition.  In addition, she worked with local high schools and the court to facilitate programs that advance youth interest in the legal field including job shadow day and career day.