Attorney, Member of the Firm
Email: kornelas@outsidegc.com
A Member of Outside GC since 2012, Kim brings over 35 years of legal experience to her role as on-demand general counsel. For the last twenty plus years, she has maintained a transactional practice focused on the Internet, technology and digital media space. Kim regularly advises clients on a wide range of legal matters relating to:
- Inbound and outbound SaaS for AdTech, FinTech and MarTech, as well as other types of products and services delivered through a SaaS model
- Data platforms
- E-commerce
- Programmatic advertising and marketing
- Software licensing
- Content creation, distribution and licensing
Kim also negotiates and drafts professional services agreements, vendor agreements, NDAs, and other general corporate transactional agreements; and as a former litigator, she frequently advises on pre-litigation contract disputes. Her clients include Simpli.fi, TuneIn, StarCompliance, Advantage Software and LawnStarter.
In addition to providing excellent legal work, Kim adds value by offering insightful business advice and serving as an objective sounding board for her clients' business ideas and strategies. Some recommendations on LinkedIn from former clients sum up what Kim brings to the table:
“Kim is one of the most dedicated and thoughtful attorneys with whom I have ever worked. She was simultaneously able to look at a deal both as an attorney and as a businessperson. As a result, she was always able to help me see a deal in a new light. She managed the details masterfully, but just as readily could cut to the issues that really mattered. Regardless of the scope or scale of the transaction I can't imagine a better partner than Kim Ornelas.”
“If I could pick any attorney to work with on a digital media marketing, content or technology deals, Kim would be my first choice. I've had the pleasure of working with Kim on a few projects, including a complex strategic deal between two multibillion dollar companies covering: advertising sales, content exclusivity, ecommerce, surcharged service revenue share, divestiture, investment, etc. Despite the many moving pieces, protracted negotiations, and seemingly intractable business issues, Kim remained focused on moving the deal forward to resolution."
"Her top-notch legal skills, innate grasp of key business issues, and ability to integrate these two skills set Kim apart. Kim understands how various deal levers impact overall value exchange, and is not afraid to question a deal when she feels it is imbalanced. I hope I have the opportunity to work with Kim in the future.”
Previously, Kim served as in-house counsel for thirteen years at AOL Inc., where she led the legal team for both the programming and e-commerce business units, as well as for the rights and clearances team. In this role, she oversaw all legal issues, including transactional, intellectual property and employment matters. Kim also spearheaded various cost-control initiatives designed to optimize the efficient delivery of legal services (e.g., implementing a contract generation tool and designing a process to rationalize deal value against limited legal and business development resources). In addition, she personally negotiated and closed numerous strategic deals that were cornerstones of AOL’s channel offerings (e.g., transactions with Electronic Arts, Travelocity, Match.com and virtually all professional sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA and MLBAM), as well as various advertising and marketing deals.
Prior to AOL, Kim practiced law at several top-tier law firms in San Diego, California and Moscow, Russia, in both the litigation and corporate groups. After leaving AOL and moving to New York City, Kim opened Ornelas Legal PLLC, servicing venture-backed start-ups in various stages of development.
Kim graduated from Harvard Law School, Stanford Graduate School of Business with an MBA and cum laude from Yale University with an undergraduate business major. Kim is admitted to practice law in Washington, DC, California and New York.
