Kevin Wong ‘16 on His Role as a Taco Lawyer

On a Tuesday afternoon, you may find Kevin Wong reviewing a contract, refining intellectual property agreements, or taste testing the newest Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders. Wong’s experiences have been unique and unforgettable working in-house as Senior Manager and Senior Corporate Counsel for the international business at Taco Bell.

By the time Wong graduated from St. John’s Law in 2016, he knew he wanted to work as an in-house attorney. “Before starting law school, I watched Law & Order and I thought I wanted to be a prosecutor,” he says. “My 1L summer, I had a great opportunity to intern with a magistrate judge in the Eastern District of New York through the Sonya & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program. I learned a lot but discovered I no longer wanted to be in litigation.”

Wong decided to pursue the other side of the business, and with the help of a connection made through the Asian American Bar Association of New York, he secured a 2L summer internship in a general counsel’s office at a multinational oil company. That experience piqued his interest in the intersection between business and law.

“Witnessing how legal decisions affect the business was very eye-opening,” Wong shares. “When I returned to St. John's Law in the fall, I enrolled in Intro to In-House Practice, taught by Adjunct Professor Steven Rapp ‘83. That course solidified my desire to go straight in-house after I graduated.”

Now with almost a decade of in-house experience and four years at Taco Bell, Wong is enjoying the challenges that come with working for the influential fast-food chain. “A lot of what I learned from other in-house attorneys came true in terms of what it takes to be an in-house attorney at a company,” he explains.

One of his favorite projects combined an intellectual property case with a marketing campaign. In May 2023, Taco Bell filed legal petitions to cancel the two Taco Tuesday trademark registrations, freeing the term for business use across the U.S.

“Taco Bell partnered with basketball star LeBron James to ‘Free Taco Tuesday,’” Wong explains. “The campaign was led by our U.S. team, and I supported on the international side to ensure we can have one true global campaign of freeing Taco Tuesday. It was interesting to be a part of a marketing campaign centered on a legal concept.”

Wong credits St. John’s Law with preparing him to go in-house directly out of law school. “Not all roads are linear in the legal profession,” he says. “St. John’s provided me the opportunity to pursue a career that intersects with business goals. That’s why it’s so great to see alumni from all areas of the profession engaged and excited about the Law School’s next 100 years.”

As an alumnus, Wong continues to give back. “I enjoy connecting with current students and sharing my non-traditional career path. Usually, the first question I get from students is if I get free Taco Bell. I don’t, but I hope students can learn from my experience, and they can take away how St. John's trains attorneys to be excellent in their field.”