SC Biz News Selects Attorney Doug Kim for 50 Most Influential List 2023

SC Biz News Magazine names Attorney Doug Kim, founder of the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm, one of the 50 Most Influential People in South Carolina for 2023. The magazine’s editor says Doug and the other executives recognized are “why South Carolina’s economic engine is humming and why people are flocking here to live, work, and play.”

Doug says, “It’s humbling to be honored with this recognition. My philosophy, and the philosophy of our firm, is that we all win by helping others. It’s a pleasure to work with so many organizations across our state whose mission is to strengthen our innovation and entrepreneur ecosystems.”

Click here to read the online publication. It includes an excerpt from Doug’s answers to the SC Biz News questionnaire. The full questionnaire and Doug’s answers are below.

 

What is your greatest career achievement/accomplishment?

Most importantly, I am so thankful for the relationships in my life. I am grateful for family, friends, clients, and collaborators. I realize how lucky I am to be surrounded by such quality people. I am also very proud that I’ve been able to make one of my dreams a reality, which is starting a law firm that is based upon modern business principles to service our clients, while also providing a working environment for other attorneys and staff so that they can be successful is quite rewarding. Seeing these attorneys and staff grow and succeed is quite fulfilling.

As for external wins, one with some of the most impact was hailed as a big win for the photography industry. The 2-year battle revolved around a company’s attempt to enforce a software patent, contending it owned exclusive rights to a data processing system for grouping photographs together.

In the fall of 2018, Snapizzi, a Washington state corporation, began contacting ImageQuix, a Greenville-based software company, about its patented image-tagging technology (U.S. Patent 8,794,506). ImageQuix had just released Blueprint, its latest photography workflow software that also included image tagging to sort and organize large volumes of images.

From the beginning, we believed the Snapizzi patent was invalid and that its claims were in violation of the Alice ruling, which covers “abstract ideas” that are therefore ineligible for patent protection. We’re happy both the District Court and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with us.

What is South Carolina’s biggest strength?

South Carolina has a pro-business climate that fosters growth. There are entrepreneur ecosystems, networks of resource partners, across the state that help attract and grow innovative entrepreneurs, as well as international companies.

What is South Carolina’s biggest challenge?

In order to keep high-growth businesses in the Palmetto State (when they’re actively being recruited by our neighbors), we must shift from the regional mentality that’s currently in the Upstate, the Midlands, and the Lowcountry to more of a unified state-wide effort of inclusivity. If Myrtle Beach is launching an entrepreneur ecosystem, for example, there’s no need for our neighbors to recreate the wheel. We all benefit from sharing ideas – what works, what doesn’t work. The challenge is how to make that happen when we are, as a state, so regionalized.

How do you think your work has benefited South Carolina?

I have been told that I am a serial networker and connector. These relationships allow me to see potential connections and opportunities between clients, companies, and organizations that promote collaboration and business. For example, I am involved with multiple entrepreneurship programs, business organizations, and professional organizations. I revived and now chair the SC Bar Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee. For 10 years, I chaired the InnoVision Awards, a program that has honored innovative companies for 25 years. One awardee said the exposure InnoVision provided motivated and propelled his business to the next level.

 

Finish this sentence: South Carolina will continue its positive economic momentum if …

It continues to stay focused on maintaining a business-friendly environment, focusing on the workforce from the high school level and upward (e.g., the South Carolina Governor’s School of Science and Mathematics – for which I sit on the foundation board), continues to produce high-quality STEM education from academic instruction such as Clemson USC and MUSC (and their research foundations) and continues to translate that southern hospitality into “the client comes first” so that we take care of our existing businesses and individuals – including those that are here enjoying this great state and those that are soon to come.