Churl Kim is the general counsel of McDonald's Korea. He brings a wealth of experience to his role, having worked in both law firms and in-house positions, including local and global roles within the McDonald's organisation. With a career spanning over 17 years, Kim has steadily climbed the ranks from Counsel to his current position as General Counsel, demonstrating his expertise in regulatory affairs, government relations, and public relations.

In this Q&A, Kim shares insights from his diverse career journey and his approach to leading a legal team. He discusses his commitment to building a "healthy" legal team, the importance of balancing risk management with business growth, and his strategies for navigating complex crises. Kim also emphasises the value of leadership skills for aspiring in-house lawyers and shares his perspective on maintaining strong relationships with C-suite executives.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you're a general counsel based in Asia who'd like to be featured in this series, please email ranajit.dam@tr.com.

ALB: Can you describe your career journey so far? What has been the most rewarding aspect of your current role?

Churl Kim: So far in my career I’ve been privileged to have experienced both the public and private sectors; in the private sector, Big Law and in-house; and as in-house counsel, local and global roles. The diversity of these experiences, coupled with some tough seasons as in-house counsel handling multiple probes and high-stakes disputes, has stretched me to grow in a way I could not have done so otherwise, and I’m convinced I’m pretty effective in my job today because of these. 

An aspect of my current role I’m very thankful for is the freedom to lead the legal team in a manner I believe is best for both the company and my teammates. As a true believer in “organisational health” being the ultimate competitive advantage that also leads to employee fulfilment, my aim as GC has been to build a “healthy” legal team. There’ve been plenty of failings so far and I know I will continue to make mistakes, but I am getting better and it’s rewarding to see some of the fruits of this endeavour as I continue to persist in this area.

ALB: How do you approach building and managing an effective legal team within your organisation?

Kim: As noted above, I aspire to build a “healthy” team where people feel valued and value each other, are transparent with and help each other, are fulfilled and engaged, and show high morale and productivity. My conviction is that a healthy team will be more likely to fully tap into the gifts/knowledge/experience found within the group than one that isn’t.

Building a healthy team requires crystal clarity around what’s expected from everybody (including the GC) in terms of (1) mindset and behaviours, (2) roles and responsibilities, and (3) ways of working. We have a team charter that sets out these expectations and we constantly use it to review and reflect on the state of our team’s health and make adjustments as needed. 

I truly believe these practices are shaping us into a heathier, smarter and more effective team. 

ALB: Can you describe your typical day or week as a general counsel? What are some of the key responsibilities and challenges you face?

Kim: I do typical legal work like any other legal professional, but additionally I constantly look for ways to add meaningful value to the top management team (TMT) of which I’m a member, and the legal team as its leader. 

In fact, my priority is to add value to the TMT however and whenever I can regardless of whether it’s my area of expertise. I share the TMT’s collective responsibility for the company’s success and so I try hard to be fully present and engaged in every meeting attended by my colleagues to understand what is going on across the entire organisation and see if there’s any value I can add to my colleagues with whatever they’re doing. 

My second priority is to add value to the legal team as its leader. That means helping teammates effectively support the business in a manner that fulfils them as well as supporting their individual growth both as a legal professional and future leader.

Sometimes there is tension between serving the TMT and the legal team, so I need to remind myself that the TMT is my team priority.

“The most important thing is to aim to be part of any new project or initiative from the get-go. You must be invited to the table from the very beginning to have the best chance of striking that optimal balance between business enablement and risk management. And for that to happen, you must work every day to earn the trust of the business that you’re there to help them accomplish their goals and that there’s in fact a track record of having done so.”

ALB: How do you balance legal risk management with enabling business growth and innovation within your organization?

Kim: I think the most important thing is to aim to be part of any new project or initiative from the get-go. You must be invited to the table from the very beginning to have the best chance of striking that optimal balance between business enablement and risk management. And for that to happen, you must work every day to earn the trust of the business that you’re there to help them accomplish their goals and that there’s in fact a track record of having done so. 

The more trust you’ve built up, the more likely you’ll be seen as someone the business cannot afford to bring in late, and you’ll be able to influence decisions early in a way that is conducive to growth and innovation while also protecting the brand and its people.

ALB: What strategies do you employ to maintain strong relationships and communication with other C-suite executives and the Board of Directors?

Kim: My belief that all of us in the C-suite are on the same team and as a teammate it’s my duty to do what I can to help achieve our collective goals is what drives me to look for ways to build and strengthen connections with my colleagues. 

I’ve always had reclusive tendencies and so connecting with fellow executives requires extra effort, but I know it’s worth it and I look for ways to consistently add value with the hope that it will lead to stronger connections. It could be a new insight I’m able to offer regarding a project they’re leading, it could be something practical like introducing them to a service provider, or it could just be a compliment that encourages them. Whatever it may be, I try to be intentional about looking for opportunities, and more importantly, acting on them should they present themselves.

ALB: Can you share an example of a particularly complex legal issue or crisis you've had to navigate, and how you approached it?

Kim: I’ve been involved in several crises of different shapes and sizes over the years, some of which were contained in a matter of weeks with minimal fallout while others lasted much longer and triggered extensive news coverage as well as regulatory and criminal investigations. 

In hindsight, I can honestly say that nothing could have prepared me for the latter. You could be practicing law for 25 years, but unless you’ve been through a similarly complex and paralysing ordeal, you wouldn’t have a clue as to how to manage it.

Now with the benefit of experience, I try to master the Golden Hour every time a crisis pops up and focus on two things during the initial stages of the response effort: speed and information. This isn’t the forum to go into detail on these but suffice it to say that this approach has served the company well.

“Lawyering skills and subject-matter expertise are very important, but over time it’s likely you’ll grow in these areas to some extent even with no intentionality if you just persist in your job. By contrast, it’s very unlikely that you’ll become a better leader no matter how much time passes unless you approach this area with intentionality.”

ALB: What advice would you give to aspiring lawyers or law students interested in pursuing senior in-house roles?

Kim: Become a life-long student of leadership and start as soon as possible. 

Lawyering skills and subject-matter expertise are very important, but over time it’s likely you’ll grow in these areas to some extent even with no intentionality if you just persist in your job. By contrast, it’s very unlikely that you’ll become a better leader no matter how much time passes unless you approach this area with intentionality.

This is huge in the in-house setting because, irrespective of whether you’re the head of marketing or legal or finance, the best companies know that success is a team sport and so want effective leaders who are able to bring out the best in others and tap into the intellectual capital and talent of their teams to achieve remarkable goals. 

So, I would encourage them to immerse themselves in learning and growing in leadership, which will set them up for long-term success and true satisfaction and fulfilment.