Naeun Rim

Practice Areas

Seasoned trial attorney Naeun Rim has quickly earned a reputation as a trial star in the litigation and white-collar communities. Known for achieving favorable and effective results, Naeun has already established herself as a go-to advisor for clients facing high-stakes legal disputes. Her sharp cross-examination skills have helped her secure jury acquittals in criminal matters and successfully defend against multimillion-dollar civil lawsuits.

Widely recognized as a rising star throughout the trial bar, she has already first-chaired multiple trials in high-stakes cases. As one of the few Asian American women who have served as trial counsel for a Fortune 150 company, Naeun played a decisive role in defending a large pipeline owner-operator in one of the biggest environmental trials in California’s history. Her work has been featured by notable news outlets, including CNN, The Washington Post, Reuters UK and the Los Angeles Times.

Naeun also devotes substantial resources to helping underserved communities on a pro bono basis. In 2021, she and her team received the ACLU Humanitarian Award for the lead role she played in obtaining and later enforcing a preliminary injunction requiring a federal prison to transfer 150+ incarcerated persons to home confinement under the CARES Act.

Professional Memberships

Admitted to practice in the state of California

Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity

Fellow, American Bar Foundation

Member, Korean American Bar Association Board of Governors, Southern California

Los Angeles Chapter Liaison, Branding and Marketing Subcommittee, Women’s White Collar Defense Association

Fellow, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Leadership Advancement Program, 2018

Executive Committee, Barristers Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 2009–12

Publications

Quoted, “Attorneys split on impact of DOJ body-worn camera directive,” Daily Journal, September 7, 2021.

Interviewed, “Kim Jong-un wants this marine dead; the US can save him,” Fox News Live, June 6, 2021.

Quoted, “Manatt Adds Ex-Bird Marella Litigator In Los Angeles,” Law360, June 4, 2021.

Quoted, “Manatt deepens California bench with rising trial pro,” Reuters, June 3, 2021.

Quoted, “Court order, federal inspection agree with class-action lawsuit’s claims that Lompoc penitentiary could have better stopped the spread of COVID-19 with more home confinement,” Santa Maria Sun, July 2020.

Quoted, “Judge Rules Prisons Must Take Action in COVID-19 Response,” NBC Los Angeles, July 2020.

Quoted, “Officials mishandled coronavirus outbreaks at Lompoc and Terminal Island prisons, lawsuits claim,” Los Angeles Times, May 2020.

Author, “Ruling Preserves Pitchess Statute Constitutionality, For Now,” Daily Journal, September 2019.

Author, “Brady v. Pitchess: A Constitutional Crisis 40 Years in the Making,” Daily Journal, May 2019.