Jihay Ellie Kwack is a senior foreign attorney at Kim & Chang. She has an extensive practice in the areas of corporate investigations & white collar defense and anti-corruption & corporate compliance.

Ms. Kwack has assisted a broad range of multinational and domestic corporations on defense in connection with investigations by the Korean authorities (including the police, prosecutors' office, tax auditors, financial regulators) and US authorities (including DOJ, OFAC, DFS, PCAOB), as well as internal investigations of issues raised by whistleblowers inside and outside the corporations. Key matters she assisted with include allegations of accounting fraud, tax evasion, infringement of trade secrets, violation of personal information protection laws, embezzlement, bribery, cartel activities, sanction violations, and breach of non-competition obligations.

She is also well versed in other areas, including civil litigation and administrative litigation, regular tax audits which do not necessarily involve allegations of tax evasion, and employment-related issues particularly in relation to imposition of disciplinary action.

Prior to joining Kim & Chang in 2009, Ms. Kwack was an associate in the capital markets practice of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP in New York. For six years, she represented issuers and underwriters in various types of registered and unregistered equity and debt offerings. Her understanding of and experience in the financial markets and transactions have been invaluable in criminal defense, corporate investigations, litigation, and regulatory audits concerning financial matters.

Ms. Kwack has been recognized by global media for her expertise and experience. From 2015 through 2018, she was named a Rising Star in white collar crime by Euromoney Expert Guides.

Ms. Kwack received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2003 after receiving her master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in English literature from Yonsei University in Korea. She also studied for one year at Brown University as an exchange student while she was an undergraduate at Yonsei University.

Ms. Kwack is admitted to the New York bar.