Meet the Board

What is your role for WLALA and how would you like to see members get more involved? I am currently Co-Chair of the Outreach Committee, which is a new WLALA Committee focusing on bringing the mission of WLALA to other community organizations and professional associations with the goal of developing relationships and collaborations that help WLALA serve its mission.  I  have proudly served on the WLALA Board for over 11 years, in total, previously serving as Co-Chair of the Doctor/Lawyer Dinner Program, Chair of the Business Law Section and initial Co-Chair of the Westside Mentoring Program.  I would like to see each WLALA member get more involved by learning about the many things WLALA does (e.g., various committees, programs, events, community service), identifying among those things what might be of interest to the member, and then signing up to participate so that each member can discover the terrific women of WLALA and what an amazing organization this truly is.  

What are your passions and interests? I am passionate about encouraging women professionals to support other women professionals, whether they be in business, law, medicine, accounting, architecture, whatever.  Women supporting women is so important!  I am also passionate about Tai Chi, being a "foodie” along with my husband, reading, art, music and my Christian faith.

Perlette Michèle Jura 

Financial Development

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about your background. Complex litigation partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, with expertise in transnational litigation and appellate and constitutional law. Graduated from Stanford law school in 2004 and clerked for the Honorable Pamela Ann Rymer.   

 

What is your role for WLALA and how would you like to see members get more involved? I serve on the financial development committee. I think that it would be fantastic if our members focused on how we could support each other in business development. 

 

What are your passions and interests? I am passionate about women’s rights issues, especially in the international community. I would love to see WLALA take a more active role in international women’s issues.  

 

Ruth Kahn
Immediate Past President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about your background.  I am a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP where I have worked for more than 16 years.  I am a litigator and trial attorney who specializes in the defense of products liability cases. I also handle commercial litigation.  I enjoy collaborating with others in a firm, the challenge of taking complex subjects and simplifying them and the variety that comes with the work that I do. I also like helping others on a regular basis by providing pro bono service through Bet Tzedek Legal Services.

What is your role for WLALA and how would you like to see members get more involved?  As immediate Past-President and a member who has been on the WLALA board for the last eight years, it gives me pleasure to share my insights, experiences and contacts with the current officers and board members to make the organization as strong as it can be so it can increase the impact it has on the lives of women who practice law in the Los Angeles area. We draw such inspiration and strength from each other. I would to see more of our members attend our programs on a regular basis, introduce their colleagues and friends to our organization, and participate in a way that is meaningful to them.  Besides adding another dimension to your professional life, you will make new contacts and friends who will last a lifetime. 

 

What's your passion and interests?  I love the outdoors. I like to ski, hike, kayak, and ride my bicycle.  I am thrilled to be able to share these interests with my husband and 13 year old son with whom I am going to head out on bikes this weekend. Attending concerts and plays are high on my list too. I am a strong believer in balance. It’s important to work hard, of course, but it’s equally important to take time to recharge by doing something you enjoy that has nothing to do with the practice of law. 

Helen B. Kim
Member at Large

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about your background. I’m a litigation partner at Thompson Coburn LLP and co-chair of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. I specialize in securities, commodities and other class actions, shareholder derivative suits and regulatory investigations. I’m a California girl, raised in L.A., thought I’d be a concert pianist. Went to college at Harvard, where I majored in music. Then Juilliard, where I got a master’s in classical piano performance. Then law school at Yale, where I was a Note Editor of the Yale Law Journal. Started practicing law in NYC, where I met my husband. Didn’t return to LA until 1999, when I was already a partner in a large law firm. (Took a long time to convince my New Yorker husband to move.) 

What is your role for WLALA and how would you like to see members get more involved?  I’m currently a member at large on the WLALA Foundation Board. I started as a Board member in 2000, served as co-Chair of the Litigation Section for a couple of years, then worked my way up the leadership ladder at WLALA to President in 2008-2009. Particularly since I returned to LA after a 20-year hiatus, I found WLALA to be a wonderful place to meet and make new friends, mentors and mentees in all areas of the law. The diversity of WLALA’s membership and Board – from new lawyers to long-time practitioners, judges, corporate counsel, non-profit, etc. is unparalleled. I encourage WLALA members not only to attend WLALA programs, but to get active in a WLALA section or on the Board, itself.

What are your passions and interests?  I’m an avid badminton player, and I play piano in a chamber music group. I’m also a bar junkie: I’ve served as President not only of WLALA, but of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and Korean American Lawyers Ass’n of Greater New York. I’m active in the ABA, where I serve on the Standing Committee for Federal Judicial Improvements and as co-chair of the Securities Litigation Committee’s Subcommittee on Class Actions. I’m also Chair of the Korean American Coalition – LA Chapter, a nonprofit community advocacy group in Koreatown. And I serve on the Board of Community Partners, a nonprofit organization that provides sponsorship and capacity-building services to emerging groups and community initiatives in Southern California.

 

 

Kelly Kriebs

Business Law

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about your background.  I am a current "Sidley lifer”, having joined the firm out of law school, and have practiced in the Corporate and Finance Group throughout my career. I co-head our recruiting committee and am heavily involved in the firm’s efforts in the promotion and retention of women – I feel I should "pay it forward” after making partner in 2007 while 9 months pregnant with my second son! My practice focuses on private company mergers & acquisitions and restructurings, and I represent fund sponsors, private equity groups and corporate clients in a broad range of industries, including healthcare, alternative energy, food, medical devices, apparel and manufacturing.

 

What is your role for WLALA and how would you like to see members get more involved? In leading the Business Law Section, I am looking to help women in a largely male-dominated practice – by connecting with each other, improving their technical and substantive skills and accessing client development opportunities. I find that many of these pursuits end up appealing to a number of other practice areas, including litigation. I share the goal of Jennifer Ishiguro (my former Business Law Section co-chair & now chair of the In-House Counsel Committee) to attract more in-house counsel to WLALA membership, particularly those with a transactional practice.

 

What are your passions and interests?  I’m a bit of a foodie and really enjoy trying new restaurants – especially the explosion of "it” restaurants downtown. My sons (9 and 6) have picked up on that and love to cook, so I have fun with them in the kitchen. My husband and I like to travel and on those trips I can indulge my oldest hobby – reading more than 3 pages at a time (my book club, which started in law school, also helps encourage that too)!