Georgia State University has announced the appointment of Martha Kim as the university’s new General Counsel, effective Oct. 15. Kim will lead the Office of Legal Affairs and serve as Georgia State’s chief legal officer and as a member of the university’s senior leadership team.

Kim joins Georgia State from Stanford University, where she has served in the Office of the General Counsel. Before joining Stanford, she served as Senior Principal Counsel at the University of California Office of the President, where she advised leaders across the University of California system on a broad range of legal and policy matters. Prior to that, she served as Associate General Counsel at Rutgers University.

Across those roles, she has advised university and system leaders on a wide range of complex legal, policy and institutional matters.

Her higher education experience spans academic and faculty affairs, labor and employment, institutional governance, regulatory compliance, litigation strategy and emerging legal issues facing colleges and universities. She also has been an active member of the national higher education legal community, speaking and teaching through the National Association of College and University Attorneys on legal and policy issues affecting colleges and universities.

“Martha’s breadth of experience, sound judgment and collaborative approach will make her an outstanding addition to our leadership team,” said Georgia State President M. Brian Blake. “I know she will be a valued partner as we continue advancing Georgia State and our commitment to student success, innovation and impact.”

Kim also served as Associate Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, advising the Office of the Secretary of Defense on national security, constitutional and international law matters. In that role, she also briefed senior leadership on significant legal developments.

“I am excited to join Georgia State and its leadership team,” Kim said. “As someone whose own education opened doors and transformed what was possible for me, I was especially drawn to Georgia State’s extraordinary public mission, its commitment to innovation and student success, and the impact it has on the city of Atlanta, the state of Georgia and beyond.

“I look forward to listening and learning, building strong relationships across the university, and working alongside the talented professionals in the Office of Legal Affairs and throughout the Georgia State community.”

Kim earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

As General Counsel, Kim will oversee the university’s legal affairs and provide counsel on the legal and policy matters that support Georgia State’s academic, research and operational missions.