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May 26, 2026

Lessons from Korean parents' dairy still shape Judge Grace Kim's courtroom

Raised helping her Korean immigrant parents run a drive-through dairy in the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Grace Kim says her childhood shaped the way she approaches justice -- with discipline, humility and empathy for the people appearing before her.

Read more about Grace A. Kim...
Lessons from Korean parents' dairy still shape Judge Grace Kim's courtroom
Los Angeles County Superior Court

Career Highlights: Appointed Los Angeles County Superior Court judge by Gov. Gavin Newsom, March 18, 2024; commissioner, Los Angeles County Superior Court, 2022-24; judicial law clerk to U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2020-22; senior trial attorney, trial attorney, U.S. Department of Labor, 2009-20; judicial law clerk to Judge Arthur L. Alarcón, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 2008-09; judicial law clerk to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2007-08; research attorney/law clerk to Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl, Los Angeles County Superior Court, 2006-07

Law School: University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2006

ALHAMBRA -- Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Grace Kim still remembers the smell of milk crates and cardboard boxes stacked behind her parents' drive-through dairy in the San Gabriel Valley. While other children spent afternoons at playgrounds or after-school activities, Kim spent much of her childhood stocking shelves, bagging groceries and translating for her Korean immigrant parents as they worked 14-hour days, seven days a week, keeping their small business alive... (continued)

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