WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2018 — The American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession will honor California attorney John Lim with its 2019 Spirit of Excellence Award for his commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession. The award will be presented at a ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, at Caesars Palace during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Las Vegas.
The Spirit of Excellence Award celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of lawyers who work to promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession. Awards are presented to lawyers who excel in their professional settings; who personify excellence on the national, state or local level; and who have demonstrated a commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession.
Also, being honored along with Lim during the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award Luncheon on Saturday, Jan. 26, from noon to 2 p.m. PT are Florida attorney Willie E. Gary, a partner with Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary PLLC; Pamela Jones Harbour, senior vice president and legal officer at Herbalife Nutrition in Los Angeles; and Peter M. Reyes, Jr., judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals in St. Paul.
“John Lim has played a major role in leveling the playing field and improving the lives of the vulnerable and marginalized, always looking at the legal profession as a means to achieve these goals,” said Helen B. Kim, chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. “Widely recognized as a leading real estate and corporate lawyer, John has served as a mentor and role model to countless diverse lawyers and law students throughout his 35-year legal career. As an advocate and community leader, John has focused on empowering others to pursue the law with a purpose and passion similar to his own. He has repeatedly and successfully opened doors, broken down barriers and promoted the full and equal participation of racially and ethnically diverse individuals in the legal profession, making him a worthy recipient of the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award.”
Lim is the managing partner of LimNexus LLP, a minority-owned corporate boutique firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. An attorney since 1982, Lim represents Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies, financial institutions, governmental entities, private equity funds, commercial developers and institutional investors in corporate, real estate and financing transactions. He regularly advises emerging high-tech ventures as outside general counsel and speaks at seminars on topics ranging from corporate governance to anti-deficiency rules in real property secured transactions.
He has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. To further equal opportunity and equal access to justice, he actively supports public interest law groups that serve the disadvantaged and marginalized. Additionally, he and his law partners provide scholarships to diverse law students through the LimNexus Foundation.
Lim, who received his B.S. from California State University and his J.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, Hastings College of the Law, is a frequent speaker at symposia covering subjects such as anti-deficiency rules, loan workouts, debt/equity financing and topics of current interest addressing bankers, accountants, lawyers and other professionals.
He is a member of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Los Angeles, current member and former chair of the board of directors of the California Bar Foundation, former board member of the board of trustees of the UC Hastings Foundation, member of Council of Korean Americans and current chair of Board of Directors.
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