Jamison Power is Empowered by Hyundai to Give Back to His Community

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Jamison Power’s children are, at present, twelve and eight. Their dad has done his best to be honest about where he came from, but he also knows that, hopefully, neither child will truly understand what it took for Power to get where he is. His children won’t know what it feels like, as Power jokes, to be “signed up for virtually any government assistance program that exists.” Their dad does, though.

“That’s why you work so hard,” Power, AGC, and director of employment, labor, and product litigation at Hyundai Motor America explains. “You want a better life for your own children than what you had. That’s the dream, and fortunately, that’s how it’s playing out for my family. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Power is the kind of person who best illustrates humility that doesn’t come at the expense of confidence. He understands that his journey may be unlike a lot of the lawyers he’s encountered in his career, and that’s fine. He believes, at a fundamental level, that it’s incumbent on him to pass along the help he’s gotten along the way, and he’s not shy about saying that it was a lot of help.

Initially, Power thought that might mean getting involved in politics. Through the Jesse Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program, Power was selected as one of eighteen college graduates to work as a fellow and legislative staffer in the California legislature. It was a dream come true for Power, a moment where he, again, stops to mention the help he got in working through the application process.

But, as journeys often do, Power’s career went in a different direction after law school. He had a great deal of opportunities, a result of the hard work he put in at the UCLA School of Law.

“Growing up, I would never have envisioned in a million years that I’d be an attorney at a car company practicing product liability,” Power says, frankly. “It wasn’t something I knew existed. But that’s what I try to tell young lawyers today. If you’re willing to be open to different paths—to things you never even thought about—that can make all the difference in truly finding work that you love.”

Power admits he “fell into” product liability work initially. And it was through that lens that he initially went in-house at Hyundai in 2018, bringing years of litigation experience in the process. Since then, he’s expanded into labor and employment matters, areas he had little experience in prior. That openness paid off, particularly during the pandemic, when employment issues increased in complexity and immediacy, seemingly overnight.

Power’s promotion to director in May 2025 reflects the versatility and commitment to widening his skill set. But there is also a great deal more to Power’s practice.

The director said that one of the many reasons he has stayed at Hyundai for the past seven years is the company’s strong support of Power’s pro bono work. Over the years, he has represented a number of indigent clients including immigrants pursuing U visas and asylum petitions, sometimes partnering with Spanish-speaking colleagues who can assist with interpretation.

It’s relatively rare for an in-house attorney to find time for pro bono work, but for Power, it’s part of what he signed up for when he earned his JD. And he’s grateful to have an employer who so adamantly supports the work.

So much of the work Power does can be seen as what he wished he’d had growing up. He says that, coming from a low income, single-parent home has encouraged him to try and be a source of support and guidance for others. At Hyundai, Power participates in multiple mentorship opportunities, including a formalized cross-departmental initiative that pairs employees from different disciplines. His current mentee is a Hyundai engineer.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” the director says. “Programs like this are great for building bridges and broadening perspectives. I know I always learn so much, and I hope they do as well.”

A couple of times a year, Power gets to take part in what’s become a highlight for the attorney, Hyundai’s career day for both middle school and college students. Presenting about the automotive industry has helped Power flex some of the muscles that almost sent him into Teach for America earlier in life.

Power represents Hyundai’s legal department, providing students a product liability fact pattern and then splitting them up into plaintiff and defense teams, challenging them to come up with their best arguments to present to a jury as to why their side should prevail.

“They [the students] love it,” the director says, smiling. “It opens their eyes to careers they might never have considered.” There may be a student like him who never dreamed he’d be doing what he’s doing until that very moment. It’s a chance to provide the next generation a helping hand in discovering their own passion.

Power says that relationships are the compass points that have ultimately guided his career. He’s grateful to the people he’s met along the way who helped lead him down the pathway of his career.

And what stands out about Power the most isn’t what he’s had to overcome to get where he is. It’s the grace and humility with which he operates in his present position. It’s an incredible reminder that we don’t get anywhere by ourselves, and maybe we owe it to ourselves to pass that on.

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