Hajin Kim

Hajin Kim

Assistant Professor of Law

Hajin Kim is an Assistant Professor of Law at the Law School. She uses principles from social psychology and economics to study environmental law. Her work examines how moral and social influence can shape environmental regulation and firm behavior.

Hajin received her BA in economics, summa cum laude, from Harvard, her JD from Stanford Law School, and her PhD from Stanford's Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. Before attending Stanford, Hajin worked for the Boston Consulting Group. She also clerked for Judge Paul Watford of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the US Supreme Court.

Education

Stanford University

PhD, 2020

  • Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources
  • Dissertation: Markets, Morality, and the Environment
  • Co-advisers: Buzz Thompson, Dale Miller
  • Committee members: Rob MacCoun, Eric Lambin

JD, 2014

  • Urban A. Sontheimer Third-Year Honors (graduated 2nd in class)
  • Kirkland & Ellis Scholar; Pro Bono Distinction

Harvard University

BA, 2007

  • Economics major, with citations in Korean and Spanish
  • Honors: summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa (1 of 24 elected in junior year), Detur Book Prize, John Harvard Scholar
  • Thesis: Proximity-concentration & Network Effects: A Panel Data Analysis of the Impact of Immigration on U.S.-inward FDI. Adviser: Pol Antràs
  • Study abroad: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile & Universidad de Chile (Santiago, Chile; Fall 2005)    

Experience

University of Chicago Law School

Assistant Law Professor, 2020–present

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court

Law Clerk, 2016–2017

Judge Paul J. Watford, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Law Clerk, 2014–2015   

Davis Polk & Wardwell

Summer Associate, Menlo Park, CA, Summer 2013

Natural Resources Defense Council

Legal Intern, Beijing, China, Summer 2012

Climate Action Reserve

Legal Intern, Los Angeles, CA, Summer 2012

Boston Consulting Group

Associate; Consultant, Chicago, IL, 2008–2011

Journal Articles

  • "Financially Equivalent But Behaviorally Distinct? Pollution Tax and Cap-and-Trade Negotiations," 52 The Environmental Law Reporter 10809 (2022) (with K.C. P. Hirsch). www
  • "Foreword (The Economic Structure of Corporate Law at Thirty: A Retrospective on the Work of Easterbrook & Fischel)," The University of Chicago Business Law Review __ (2022) (with Anthony J. Casey & Joshua C. Macey).
  • "Can Mandating Corporate Social Responsibility Backfire," 18 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 189 (2021). www
  • "Can Mandating Corporate Social Responsibility Backfire?," 18 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 189 (2021).
  • "Scaling Up Solutions for a Sustainability Transition," 3 One Earth 89 (2020) (with Eric F. Lambin, Jim Leape & Kai Lee). www
  • "Default Neglect in Attempts at Social Influence," 114 Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences of the United States Of America 13643 (2017) (with Julian J. Zlatev, David P. Daniels & Margaret K. Neal).
  • "How Disciplinary Major and Collaborative Context Can Impact Environmental Decisions," 14 Environmental Education Research Bulletin 7 (2017). www
  • "Ecolabels and Competition: Eco-certification Effects on the Market for Environmental Quality Provision," 22 New York University Environmental Law Journal 181 (2015).
  • "An Argument for WTO Oversight of Ecolabels," 33 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 421 (2014).
  • "Do Trade Liberalization and International Trade Law Constrain Domestic Environmental Regulation?," 43 The Environmental Law Reporter 10823 (2013).

Working Papers

  • "Does ESG Crowd Out Support for Government Regulation?," (2022) (with Joshua C. Macey & Kristin Underhill).
  • "Expecting Corporate Prosociality," (2022). ssrn
  • Berkeley Center for Law and Business ESG Workshop, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, November 2022
  • Oxford Law and Finance Workshop, Presented Does ESG Crowd Out Support for Governmental Regulation project, October 2022
  • Notre Dame Law & Economics Seminar, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, September 2022
  • UC Santa Barbara Environmental Law Professor Workshop, Workshopped Market-Based Instruments and Moral Stigma project, August 2022
  • ALEA, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, August 2022
  • Society for Environmental Law and Economics, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality, June 2022
  • Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law, Law & Economics Workshop, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality, June 2022
  • Georgetown Law Environmental Research Workshop, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality, March 2022
  • Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Presented Expecting Corporate Prosociality, March 2022
  • Booth School Center for Decision Research Workshop, Presented initial study from Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, October 2021
  • University of Toronto Law & Economics Workshop, Presented early draft of Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, September 2021
  • Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability Conference, Accepted paper; Presented sketch of Expecting Corporate Prosociality, June 2021
  • Conference on Behavioral Ethics and Corporate Governance, Invited; Presented Can Mandating Corporate Social Responsibility Backfire?, May 2021
  • Behavioral Ethics in Corporate Governance presentation, Presented theory paper on Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, December 2020
  • Virtual Law & Economics Conference (multiple law schools), Presented theory paper on Expecting Corporate Prosociality project, December 2020
  • EPIC: What a Conservative Supreme Court Could Mean for Climate Policy in the Biden Administration, Co-panelist with Cass Sunstein in talk moderated by Robinson Meyer, December 2020
  • Climate & Energy Seminar (UCLA Law School), Presented theory paper on Self-fulfilling Stakeholder Expectations project, October 2020
  • Early-Career Energy Scholars Workshop (CU Law School), Presented Can Mandating Corporate Social Responsibility Backfire?, July 2020
  • Sabin Colloquium (Columbia Law School), Workshopped working paper (Cap and Trade vs. Pollution Taxes: Theoretically Equivalent, Behaviorally Distinct?), Spring 2019
  • School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences Research Review (Stanford University), Gave lightning talk on corporate governance experiments, Spring 2019
  • Salzburg Cutler Rule of Law Fellows Program (Washington, D.C.), Workshopped An Argument for WTO Oversight of Ecolabels, Fall 2013
  • Hajin Kim & KC McKanna, Market-Based Instruments and Moral Stigma
  • Hajin Kim, Joshua Macey, & Adriana Robertson, Climate Proposals and What Comes After
  • Hajin Kim, Julian Zlatev, & Dale Miller, Bivalent Moral Judgments
  • Hajin Kim & Yuval Feldman, Corporate Character
  • Simone Tang, Hajin Kim & Genevieve Helleringer, The Aggregation Effect: When the Same Punishment Appears More Severe and Increases Punishment Satisfaction

Awards and Honors

  • Berkeley Center for Law and Business Best Paper Award, 2022
    • Junior scholar award for Expecting Corporate Prosociality
    • One of 70 submissions for junior and senior award
  • Stanford Center of Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS) fellowship, 2018–2019
  • Stanford E-IPER and McGee/Levorsen summer research grants, 2016, 2018
  • New York University Environmental Law Journal competition winner, 2014
    • For Ecolabels and Competition: Eco-certification Effects on the Market for Environmental Quality Provision
  • Stanford Law School Carl Mason Franklin Award, 2014
    • For Do Trade Liberalization and International Trade Law Constrain Domestic Environmental Regulation?
  • Stanford Law School Olaus & Adolf Murie Award, 2014
    • For An Argument for WTO Oversight over Ecolabels
  • David and Lucile Packard Foundation Stanford Graduate Fellow, 2012–2014, 2015–2016

Service

  • Reviewer, American Law and Economics Review
  • Referee, Corporate Law Journal
  • Co-organizer, Chicago-Michigan Psychology and Lab Studies group (2020-on)
  • Clerkship committee (University of Chicago Law School; 2020-2021, 2022-2023)
  • E-IPER JD-MS, MBA-MS capstone project review (provided guidance for MS student research)
  • E-IPER Executive Committee, residency policy sub-committee (helped draft new policy)
  • E-IPER Admissions
  • Stanford Environment and Behavior Group (member; contributor)
  • Stanford Environmental Law Journal (senior and executive editor)
  • Stanford Asian-Pacific Islander Law Students’ Association (academic chair)
  • Volunteer Attorney Program (provided pro bono legal services)

Languages

Korean (highly proficient); Spanish (proficient); Mandarin (basic)