Kyhm Penfil

Campus Counsel, UC Irvine

Practice Groups

Business Transactions, Education Affairs, Intellectual Property & Innovation, Nonprofit Organizations & Charitable Giving, Technology & Research

Experience

Kyhm Penfil has served the University as UCI Campus Counsel since 2005 as a legal advisor, business partner, advocate, inspector general, honest broker and problem solver at both the campus and system level.  Before joining the University, she was a litigation partner at Irell & Manella LLP.  Ms. Penfil specialized as an art historian at the Wildenstein gallery in New York before law school.

Ms. Penfil advises the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Cabinet with respect to complex matters including cybersecurity/privacy, innovation and entrepreneurship, intellectual property, sexual misconduct, international research collaborations, research compliance, crisis management, whistleblower/internal audit, equity and inclusive excellence, conflict of interest and First Amendment and protests.  Ms. Penfil’s board service includes the Orange County Bar Association (Audit, Finance, Strategic Planning), UCI Beall Applied Innovation and the Anti-Defamation League (Nominating, Strategic Planning). 

Education

University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, J.D. (Order of the Coif, Law Review)
Wellesley College, A.B.
 
Bar Admissions

California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California