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Cleary Gottlieb Partner to Join Prosecutor\'s Office as Chief Counsel

Joon Kim, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, is leaving the law firm to join the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan as chief counsel.

The move is a homecoming for Mr. Kim, who served as a federal prosecutor in the office from 2000 to 2006. As a so-called line assistant in the office’s organized crime unit, where he worked closely with Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan.

Here’s a memo from Mr. Bharara sent around to his staff earlier Friday:

Everyone,

It is my pleasure to announce that distinguished SDNY alumnus Joon Kim has agreed to return to the Office to serve in the role of Chief Counsel.  Why is Joon coming back  Because this is the greatest place on earth and because he’s dying to have the opportunity to once again work with the best publicservants anywhere.  For those of you who don’t know Joon, you will find him to be smart, thoughtful, and funny, in addition to being an incredibly exacting lawyer with unerring judgment.

Joon returns to the Office from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he is a litigation and enforcement group partner.  At Cleary, Joon’s practice has focused on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement, corporate internal investigations, as well as commercial litigation and international arbitration.  From 2000 to 2006, Joon served as an AUSA here prosecuting a wide range of cases, including racketeering, murder, money laundering, narcotics, alien smuggling, and tax evasion. 

Joon spent the last four years in the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit, prosecuting various violent organized crime syndicates, including Asian gangs and the Mafia.  Among his organized crime prosecutions, Joon convicted Peter Gotti, then-Boss of the Gambino Family, of conspiring to kill Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano.   (When he gets here, you can ask him about John Gotti Jr. … )

Prior to joining the Office the first time, Joon was a litigation associate at Cleary Gottlieb and clerked for Judge Cedarbaum.  Joon is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law chool.  I will let you know when we have a firm start date for our new colleague.