​The creation of a legal association for lawyers of Korean descent living and working in Canada was inspired by Won J. Kim and Julia Shin Doi in 1995. In 1996, a Steering Committee was established to oversee the formal organization of the KCLA. The Steering Committee members included: Won J. Kim, Julia Shin Doi, Peter Choe, Jin Y. Choi, Ellie Choi, Angela Kim, Helen Park, Michael Park, Beth Seo and Maria Yang. The KCLA was formally incorporated as a non-share capital corporation on May 15, 1997. The first Directors were: Julia Shin Doi, Won J. Kim, Angela Kim, Maria Yang and Peter Choe.

​​In 2024, in response to the growing Korean Canadian legal community, KCLA expanded nationally and chapters were created in Ontario, British Columbia and the Prairies. The first Chair of the Ontario Chapter is Ashley Jung, the first Chair of the British Columbia Chapter is Sena Byun and the first Chair of the Prairies Chapter is Alan Hong.​

The KCLA  also helped host the International Association of Korean Lawyers' first conference in Canada on October 3-6, 2024 at the Ritz-Carlton Toronto.