Jusun Yook, Esq. Appointed Gala Committee Chair for Korean American Civic Empowerment’s 30th Anniversary
Fort Lee, NJ — Jusun Yook, Esq., a trial lawyer at Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi, P.C., has been appointed Gala Committee Chair for the 30th Anniversary celebration of Korean American Civic Empowerment (KACE), the non-partisan civic organization that has served Korean American communities across New York and New Jersey since 1996.
For Mr. Yook, the appointment is less a new chapter than a continuation. He has served on KACE’s Legal Task Force — the volunteer group of Korean American attorneys in New York and New Jersey that provides free consultations and seminars to community members — and sits on the Board of Directors in the legal division for the Korean American Association of New Jersey. Chairing the organization’s 30th Anniversary Committee places him in a leadership role for one of the most significant moments in KACE’s history.
Representing Korean American Families After Serious Injury
Mr. Yook practices exclusively in personal injury litigation and trial work, with a concentration on trucking collisions and catastrophic injury cases in the state and federal courts of New Jersey and New York. He is admitted in both states, as well as in the federal district courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
He is also fluent in Korean — a detail that matters more than it may sound. For an injured person navigating a claim in a second language, the gap between understanding the process and merely being told about it is enormous. Insurance adjusters, medical records, deposition testimony, and settlement decisions all demand real comprehension, not approximation. Mr. Yook’s practice removes that barrier for Korean-speaking clients and their families, allowing them to participate fully in decisions about their own cases.
That commitment extends outside the courtroom. Mr. Yook has presented educational seminars to the Korean American community on topics including premises liability, helping residents and small business owners understand their rights before a problem ever reaches a lawyer’s office.
Why Civic Work and Trial Work Belong Together
KACE was founded in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots on the conviction that a community should never again be powerless when its voice matters most. Over three decades, the organization has registered more than 55,000 voters, advocated for justice on behalf of survivors of wartime sexual enslavement, supported Korean American small business owners, and trained more than 300 high school students through its Grassroots Internship Program.
Trial lawyers do related work on a smaller scale: standing between an individual and an institution with far more resources, and insisting that the individual be heard. Mr. Yook has built his career representing people seriously injured by the wrongdoing of others — whether that wrongdoing came from a person, a corporation, an association, or a government entity.
“The work I do for clients and the work KACE does for the community come from the same place,” said Mr. Yook. “Both are about making sure people are not overlooked simply because of the language they speak or the resources they have. I’m honored to serve as Gala Committee Chair as KACE marks thirty years.” – Attorney Jusun Yook
About the 30th Anniversary Gala
The gala will be held Friday, October 30, 2026, at The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10027, with award-winning novelist Min Jin Lee — author of Pachinko and the forthcoming American Hagwon — joining as special guest for a conversation on Korean American identity and the community’s future. Details on attendance and sponsorship are available at kacegala.org.
