Todd Sunhwae Kim is an American attorney serving as the

United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...

for the

United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division The United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) is one of seven litigating components of the U.S. Department of Justice. ENRD's mandate is to enforce civil and criminal environmental laws and programs p ...

. He earlier served as the first Solicitor General for the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for nearly 12 years. He was twice nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, but the Senate held no hearings on his nominations, which expired without action.

Early life and education

Kim was born and raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He graduated magna cum laude from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1997, where he was an executive editor of the

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

, and received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, in biology from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1994. After law school, he served as a law clerk to

Judith W. Rogers Judith Ann Wilson Rogers (born July 27, 1939) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Education and career Born in New York City, Rogers received an Artium Baccalaureus ...

on the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

Professional career

Kim served for seven years as an appellate attorney for the

Solicitor general for the District of Columbia

Kim was the first solicitor general for the

, serving from 2006 to 2017. He was appointed by

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Robert J. Spagnoletti to be responsible for all of the District's appellate litigation before the

District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, in the United States. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congr ...

, the

, and the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. In 2017, his final year as solicitor general, Kim argued on behalf of the District in the Supreme Court in ''District of Columbia v. Wesby''.

DC Court of Appeals nomination

In February 2014, President

nominated Kim to a seat on the

, but his nomination was not acted upon. On April 30, 2015, President Obama re-nominated Kim to the position, but the Senate did not take action on that nomination either.

Private practice

In January 2018, he became a partner in

Reed Smith Reed Smith LLP is a global law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with more than 1,500 lawyers in 30 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. History Reed Smith was founded in Pittsburgh in 1877 by P ...

's appellate practice. He left the firm in January 2021, joining the Biden administration as a deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Biden administration

On March 15, 2021, it was announced that President Joe Biden would nominate Kim to serve as

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...

for the

. On April 14, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

. On May 13, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote. The Senate confirmed Kim in a 58–41 vote. Kim was sworn in on July 28.

Personal life

On February 22, 2004, Kim appeared as the first contestant on a short-run ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...

'' spin-off game show called '' Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire'', where he won $500,000. Kim decided to walk away from his $1,000,000 question. Kim is married to Carolyn Kim; they have two sons. Todd Kim Opening Statement
Confirmation Hearing. Senate Judiciary Committee. April 14, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Todd 1970s births Living people Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Solicitors General of the District of Columbia United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division Biden administration personnel American jurists of Korean descent Year of birth missing (living people)