John H Kim

John was born in Seattle on March 20, 1961, to Korean immigrant parents, Young Nok and Yung Shin Kim, educators who relocated to Lubbock for tenure-track positions at Texas Tech University.

While the family was among Lubbock’s few Asian households, John’s childhood there, with his sister Patricia and brother James, was idyllic and welcoming, filled with baseball and basketball games. It was here that he developed the deep Southern drawl for which he became known.

He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned an international business degree despite devoting much of his time to happy hours and playing pickup hoops and poker. His love of UT ran very, very deep. During his senior year, a chance happy hour meeting with the owner of a real estate development firm led to a post-graduation business career that lasted six years.

But as the company faltered during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, John realized he’d better change course and found his true calling in the law.

At the South Texas College of Law in Houston, John became a national moot court champion and earned his law degree in 1992. He passed on offers from larger firms to take a role with boutique personal injury firm Fisher, Gallagher, Perrin & Lewis because it would immediately place him where he most wanted to be: in the courtroom. He was taken under the wing of Mike Gallagher, whom John described as “like a second father to me.”

By this time, John was almost 30, and as the new guy at the firm, he got the cases no one else wanted and was left to sink or swim. He became a courthouse junkie, trying as many cases as possible.

In 1996, John launched his own firm, The Kim Law Firm. His work over the years included product liability, pharmaceutical, personal injury, large construction EPC cases, antitrust, oil and gas, and energy litigation cases. He was adamant that he would never take a case unless he was emotionally invested in it, and he often said that as long as he believed in the position, he could argue it.

John eventually became one of the most recognized trial lawyers in the United States.

Being a trial lawyer was both his calling and his passion. He represented the titans of industry, but more importantly, those who had no voice. His dedication to the cause of his clients was intense. John was extensively involved with the American Board of Trial Advocates Foundation, which works to preserve the jury system and improve trial lawyers’ skills. He was president of the group’s national foundation in 2021 and presided over its Houston chapter.

John was one of a kind. He was a trial lawyer through and through. Juries adored him. His quick wit, turn of phrase and commitment to speaking for those who could not speak for themselves defined both his career and his life. John had a passion for life, family, friends and humor, and a dedication to trial law that was sacrosanct.

John met his wife Denise while they were working on the same side of a case. After their first meeting, John invited Denise and her friend for drinks and was shocked when she turned him down. They didn’t run into one another again until months later at a charity auction, where Denise was with the same friend. In typical John fashion, he decided there could only be one logical explanation: Denise simply wasn’t interested in men. After all, why else wouldn’t she be interested in him?

It wasn’t until Denise showed up on his porch one night that he realized just how mistaken he had been, and their magical love story began. Much to her chagrin, John loved to make Denise tell this “stalking” story to anyone who would listen.

John and Denise did almost everything together and shared almost thirteen years of marriage, giving John the family he had always wanted. Peyton and Chase invited John to go on their family trip to Hawaii, where John got their help in proposing to Denise.

Whenever asked if he had children, John proudly stated that he had two, never noting that they were not biologically his.

They were always his.

Peyton and Chase were his pride and joy, and he spent countless hours, never happier, in the stands at baseball, softball and basketball games. He took great humor when people assumed that the Asian kids on the teams were his.

John was a force of nature. He never met a stranger, and he had a unique gift for making people feel welcome while commanding the room, dinner table, or bar with his remarkable ability to tell a story. He was a great friend to many and fiercely loyal. His strictly personal ethos touched thousands and impacted all who were lucky enough to gain access to his circle of influence, including family, friends, colleagues, clients, judges and legal counsel, whether with or against him.

John loved cigars, Tito’s, golf, poker, reading, political discussions, sports betting, fine red wine, watching UT football, his vast number of friends, his kids, his family, and Denise — not necessarily in that order.

John adored Cape Cod and called it his “Happy Place.” Joining Cape Cod National was a true blessing in his life, and the incredible friends he made here became his brothers. He was beloved by everyone, from the caddies and golf staff to the dining room team and the membership.

He was a legend for all the right reasons.

John was preceded in death by his father, Young Nok, and his brother, James. He is survived by an extraordinary number of friends, colleagues and family; his mother, Yung Shin Kim (Shinie); his sister and brother-in-law, Patricia and Geordie Frei; nieces Samantha Frei, Darcy Kim and Eleanor Kim; nephew Max Frei; and the loves of his life, Peyton, Chase and Denise.

He was a man who lit up the world with a cigar in his mouth and a twinkle in his eye.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about John was the contrast between his brilliance and his simplicity. His mind was extraordinary: quick, curious, analytical and always several steps ahead, yet the things that mattered most to him were remarkably simple: the people he loved, the work he believed in, his friendships, a good story and a good laugh.

For all his complexity and brilliance, John understood something very simple about life: who you love, what you stand for, and how fully you live.

His favorite phrase was “Don’t let others define your character,” and he lived it each day.

The world will simply not be the same without him.

Please join Denise, Chase and Peyton, along with John’s family and friends, in honoring and celebrating his life at the Wequassett Resort in Harwich on Tuesday, August 18th at 5:00 p.m.

All who knew and loved John are warmly welcome to join us as we remember a life that meant so much to so many.

In honor of John, please consider wearing a touch of pink. a fitting tribute as we come together to remember his extraordinary life.

A Celebration of Life will also be held in Houston in October. Details will be shared once finalized.