Yoojin Lee

Associate, McGuireWoods LLP

40 Under 40 Category: Legal Services

Yoojin is an associate in the debt finance practice group at McGuireWoods LLP.  She concentrates her practice in representing financial institutions across a wide array of industries in domestic and international secured lending transactions with an emphasis on asset-based lending.  Her practice also includes syndicated credit facilities, acquisition financing and has experience in debtor-in-possession financings. 

Yoojin obtained her law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2012 and joined McGuireWoods in September 2014 after practicing in Seoul, South Korea, where she gained experience in cross-border mergers and acquisition transactions and project financing transactions, as in-house counsel at a South Korean conglomerate and as a U.S Foreign Lawyer at a South Korean law firm.   Yoojin was selected as a representative for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity in 2019 Pathfinder Program and is on the firm’s Asian Pacific Lawyers Network and the firm’s Women Lawyers Network.  

What is your definition of success?  

Success is something defined differently for each person.  Some may define success purely as career or financial success while others define it as having fulfilling personal relationships at home and elsewhere.  I define success as all of the above.  I can honestly state that I will have achieved success only when I have a thriving legal career as well as fulfilling relationships at home and with my friends.  I feel fortunate to have role models who have been able to achieve success as I define it and look to them as examples as I advance through my career and life generally.

What advice would you give on how to self-advocate?

Younger lawyers generally find it difficult to self-advocate because of the hierarchical nature of a law firm.  Early in my career, I received advice from more senior lawyers that I need to speak up and voice my needs and expectations as I am my best advocate.  I quickly realized that, once I was able to get over the discomfort of advocating for myself, those to which my advocacy was directed were very receptive to me.  I have since learned that the senior folks in my organization appreciate the honest discussion and are genuinely interested in my advancement to senior ranks.  They invite the open discussion about my future at the firm and are happy to be a part of it.  So, my advice to younger professionals is to just do it and speak up.  Make sure you are keeping your advocacy reasonable and go for it.

How would you encourage young professionals to become more involved in their community or volunteer? How have these activities outside of work helped shape your professional life? 

Engaging in volunteer work for a cause I care about has been critical to finding balance and greater meaning in my life.  It’s easy to lose focus when working long hours in a corporate setting while simultaneously not appreciating our positions of privilege.  As lawyers, we have a unique skill set that can be very helpful to those that are in need of help, but can’t afford to seek legal advice.  There are different avenues to give back and I would encourage young professionals to find what works best for them, based on where their obligations and time constraints are – whether that’s serving on the board of an organization, mentoring law students or financially donating to a cause.  I personally find meaning in engaging in pro bono legal work and also engaging in non-legal tasks like volunteering at the local food bank.