How I Made Partner: 'I Was Encouraged to Collaborate Frequently With Attorneys in All of the Firm's Departments,' Says Grace Kim of Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt

Attorney Grace E. Kim was recently profiled by Law.com for its series “How I Made Partner.” In the interview, Grace discusses a number of topics about her career and her experience working her way up to partner. She also provides advice to associates who are looking to embark on the partner track.

When asked why she chose to work at Oblon, Grace told Law.com, “First, the firm has a stellar reputation. For decades, Oblon has obtained more patents than other law firms. Second, I found the location attractive. Oblon is located right next door to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in a beautiful area in Alexandria, Virginia.”

Grace also shared that the biggest surprise she experienced in becoming partner was “the immediate switch in mindset from being an employee at the firm to becoming a co-owner of the firm with rest of the partnership” stating that “[a]s a partner, I have the same responsibilities, but the focus isn’t solely on building my own practice. Now, maintaining client relationships and growing business is about the success of the firm as a whole, and I have to think about how my work contributes to this success.”

On a related note, Grace’s advice to associates seeking a promotion is to “demonstrate in some way that you are the firm’s future—that you are a valuable player to maintaining current client relationships and that you will play a part in the firm’s growth and vision.”

Grace also provided thoughts on what it takes to successfully develop business as an attorney, remarking, “I believe the key to successful business development is to truly care about your clients’ successes and to come up with new ideas to help them develop their business as well as their own careers within their organization.”

You can read the full interview here.