Hannah Lim-Johnson, Chief Legal Officer, Kelly Services

Hannah Lim-Johnson,  Chief Legal Officer,  Kelly Services

Hannah Lim-Johnson, Kelly Services

Taking on the role of chief legal officer at Kelly Services, Hannah Lim-Johnson discusses the value of strong mentorship in preparing to take on the top job.

When I started my career, I didn’t have any preconceptions of where things would lead. I clerked for a year then headed to the New Jersey attorney general’s office, where I cut my teeth on labor and employment cases, while spending a lot of time on my feet in court. I enjoyed the role – the cases were stimulating – it was a great place to learn, to make mistakes and to develop my style.

After leaving the government, I took the road less travelled and joined a large class action shop in New York City, focusing on plaintiff’s side work, where I helped litigate the ‘MTBE MDL’ environmental contamination cases. I represented a number of states and municipalities across the US in recovering groundwater clean-up costs from the refiners and additive manufacturers – and felt a little like Erin Brockovich. The experience was a turning point in my career, where I was forced to think strategically about large pieces of litigation from the opposite side. I can’t replace those three years on ‘the dark side’ with any other experience, and they continue to shape the way I view smart litigators and a good litigation strategy.

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