On Monday, November 7, 2022, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled on charges of attorney discipline against attorney Young Min Kim. The case is entitled “In the Matter of Young Min Kim” and was brought by Disciplinary Review Board. Case #87198.

The charges cited rules of professional conduct 5.5 (a) (1), 8.1 (b), 8.4 (c) which state:

A lawyer shall not: (1) practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction.

An applicant for admission to the bar, or a lawyer in connection with a bar admission application or in connection with a disciplinary matter, shall not: fail to disclose a fact necessary to correct a misapprehension known by the person to have arisen in the matter, or knowingly fail to respond to a lawful demand for information from admission or disciplinary authority, except that this Rule does not require disclosure of information otherwise protected by RPC 1.6.

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.

The rules of professional conduct can be found here. 

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing: 

In 2015, the respondent received a censure, in a default matter, for his failure to cooperate with the OAE’s investigation of a $57,968.21 shortage in his trust account. The OAE made numerous requests for the respondent’s three-way reconciliations of his attorney trust account. However, despite receiving numerous extensions, the respondent failed to provide the OAE with the information necessary to explain his trust account. On March 16, 2020, the Court imposed a three-year suspension on the respondent for his violations of RPC. However, making matters worse, the respondent continued to practice law in the months following his June 15, 2016, temporary suspension.

The filing states:

‘Specifically, in one matter, the respondent continued to represent a client in connection with the purchase of a liquor license and business. The respondent failed to advise his client of his suspension, and repeatedly communicated with the seller’s attorney regarding the transaction despite his suspended status.’

The filing continues:

‘In a second matter, on July 12, 2016, the respondent represented the sellers in a residential real estate closing and failed to inform the parties of his suspended status. Ibid. Moreover, the respondent accepted a $950 fee for that improper representation and issued to the buyer a $1,000 check purporting to provide funds from his frozen bank account. Ibid. The buyer could not negotiate that check as a function of the Court’s Order. The buyer, ultimately, never received the $1,000 owed to him in connection with the transaction.

The filing further alleges that:

‘Despite his suspended status, the respondent continued to serve as counsel to the Eastern American Certified Development Company (the EACDC), a New Jersey-based, United States Small Business Administration (the SBA) certified development company, in connection with the closing of various small business 8 loans through the SBA’s 504 loan program. ‘

Due to these circumstances, the Supreme Court of New Jersey Disciplinary Review Board determine to recommend that respondent be disbarred in order to effectively protect the public and to preserve confidence in the bar. On order by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, it was ruled that the respondent be disbarred from the practice of law.

The Disposition states:

“It is ORDERED that Young Min Kim be disbarred, effective immediately and that his name be stricken from the roll of attorneys; and it is further ORDERED that Young Min Kim be and hereby is permanently restrained and enjoined from practicing law.”

As of today, Mr. Kim is listed on the website of the law firm Law Offices of Young Min Kim, P.C. as a practicing attorney. His info can be found on opengovus.com. He attended New York Law School, graduating in 2001. Kim has been licensed in New York and in New Jersey.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.