Trailblazer Award
AABANY’s Trailblazer Award is named after Norman Lau Kee, who was a revered legal and community pillar of New York City’s Chinatown for decades. The Trailblazer Award honors an accomplished leader in the legal profession who is of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) descent or who has demonstrated dedication to AAPI issues in the community. This award honors an individual who has carved a path for others to follow, served the community as a mentor and role model, and made a lasting impact on the AAPI community through his or her dedication and commitment.
This year's recipient: Hon. Judy H. Kim
The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) is excited to announce that Hon. Judy Kim will receive the Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award at AABANY’s Fall Conference, to be held on September 27, 2025, at New York Law School.
AABANY’s Trailblazer Award is named after Norman Lau Kee, who was a revered and deeply respected legal and community pillar of New York City’s Chinatown for several decades. The Award is bestowed to a leader in the legal field who is of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) descent or who has dedicated themselves to AAPI issues in the community. The recipient is recognized for exemplifying the qualities of a role model and trailblazer in the legal profession in New York and for making a significant impact on the AAPI community through his or her work.
Justice Kim has been a leader in the AAPI community and legal profession. She is the daughter of immigrants who left South Korea and came to the United States in the mid-1960s. She attended The Spence School and then went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in American History and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She received her Juris Doctorate from Tulane School of Law where she served as Notes and Comments Editor of the Tulane Journal of International & Comparative Law.
In November 2016, Justice Kim became the first Korean American elected judge in New York State. As an elected Civil Court judge, she served in the Manhattan Criminal Court for two years and then served for three years in New York County Civil Court. In January 2022, she was promoted to Acting Justice of the Supreme Court in the New York State Supreme Court, New York County. In September 2025, Justice Kim was appointed to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics for a five-year term by the Chief Administrative Judge. She also serves on the Supreme Court, New York County-Civil Term Equal Justice in the Courts and the Gender Fairness committees.
Prior to joining the judiciary, she served as an associate counsel and interim Section Chief in the Bureau & Estates Litigation Section of the New York Liquidation Bureau’s Legal Division from 2008-2016. She also spent several years in private practice, first at Kennedy Lillis Schmidt & English, a boutique law firm, and then at Snitow Kanfer Holtzer & Millus LLP, where she specialized in commercial litigation, employment discrimination, and matrimonial and family law matters.
Justice Kim currently serves as the immediate past president of the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA) and is a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Minorities in the Courts and Diversity Pipeline Initiative Committees. She also serves as a trustee of The Historical Society of New York Courts. She previously served on the boards of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY) and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Justice Kim is the recipient of KALAGNY’s 2017 Trailblazer Award and The Spence School’s 2025 Judith Joseph Jenkins ’91 Distinguished Alumna Award. In 2025, she was recognized as a trailblazer in City and State New York’s inaugural Asian Trailblazer list.
Justice Kim continues to be an active member of the community. She serves as a member of the Alumnae Diversity Committee and as a Trustee on the Board of The Spence School and as a board member of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF), which provides grants and organizational development support to nonprofit groups working to address the most pressing needs in the Korean American community and beyond.
Over the course of her distinguished career, Justice Kim has created profound change in the legal community. Her accomplishments have deeply supported and benefited the AAPI community, while also paving the way for lasting change for AAPI attorneys. Justice Kim’s numerous achievements include:
Serving in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, since 2022, presiding over civil cases—including, but not limited to, personal injury actions, civil rights and commercial matters.
Serving as the Immediate Past President from 2025-2027 of Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA) among many previous board positions.
Serving twice on the Board of Governors, 2011-2013 and 2017-2018 of the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY).
Board member from 2020-2027 of Korean American Community Foundation (KACF).