Naeun Rim is the leader of Manatt’s Trial, White Collar and Investigations practice. She is a seasoned trial lawyer based in Manatt’s Los Angeles office who specializes in complex commercial litigation and white collar disputes. She has represented companies, executives, and high net-worth individuals in a broad range of matters, including those involving civil contract and business torts, healthcare fraud, securities fraud, class actions, False Claims Act, trade secret misappropriation, consumer protection claims, tax evasion, real estate disputes, customs violations, environmental crimes, cybercrimes, and more. Her trial skills and business-oriented approach are sought by clients across a variety of industries—including health care, financial services, banking, entertainment and technology. She has secured numerous jury acquittals, dismissals and favorable sentencing results in criminal matters and multimillion-dollar judgments in civil cases. She has also guided companies through sensitive internal investigations during times of crisis.

A significant portion of Naeun’s practice is dedicated to trial work. Widely recognized as a rising star throughout the trial bar, she has already first-chaired multiple trials in high-stakes cases. As one of the few Asian American women who have served as trial counsel for a Fortune 150 company, Naeun played a decisive role in defending a large pipeline owner-operator in one of the biggest environmental trials in California’s history. Her work has been featured by notable news outlets, including CNN, The Washington Post, Reuters UK and the Los Angeles Times. Her representative matters include:

• Successfully defended a bank in a civil fraud case alleging $100 million in damages, securing a complete defense verdict after a multiweek arbitration.
• Lead counsel in a two-week jury trial, securing acquittals on and dismissals of all 19 counts of felony wire and mail fraud charges against the CEO of a movie financing and production company.
• Lead counsel in a securities fraud class action case pending against a publicly traded bank.
• Co-lead counsel representing dozens of corporate claimants in 15 of the 1MDB civil forfeiture matters, the largest federal civil forfeiture action ever brought by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.
• Successfully represented a health care provider in a Medicare risk adjustment internal investigation.
• Secured a declination of prosecution agreement on behalf of a high-net-worth CEO facing felony public corruption charges.
• Trial counsel in a multimillion-dollar federal civil jury trial alleging trade secret misappropriation.

Prior to joining Manatt, Naeun served as a trial deputy at the Federal Defender’s Office in Los Angeles, where she first-chaired numerous felony jury trials and represented defendants in matters involving complex wire and mail fraud, money laundering, health care fraud, access device fraud, environmental crimes, computer crimes, tax evasion, and more. She appeared in hundreds of federal criminal cases and developed a reputation among federal judges and prosecutors alike as a skilled and credible advocate.

In addition to her client work, Naeun is active in the community, serving as a mentor for young women lawyers and attorneys of color, and is involved with various legal organizations—including serving as a board member of the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California and as a member of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. She is one of the original Fellows of NAPABA’s 2018 Leadership Advancement Program. Naeun also continues to remain dedicated to pro bono work. Among other cases, Naeun is lead class counsel in two class action lawsuits brought against federal prisons in Southern California for Eighth Amendment violations after hundreds of justice-involved persons tested positive for COVID-19.

Naeun clerked in the Central District of California for the Honorable A. Howard Matz.

Naeun is conversationally fluent in Korean.