At Least Three Law Firms Planned Opening Offices In Seoul
28 August 2012
At least three US-based law firms have announced plans to open offices in Seoul, following the recent ratification of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement by the US Congress.
McDermott Will & Emery announced in mid-February that it will open an office in Seoul focusing on outbound work, the firm said in a statement.
“The new McDermott office in Seoul will focus almost exclusively on work that is outbound from Korea,” said In-Young Lee, partner and head of McDermott’s Korea practice group. “Under the model we have adopted, any work inbound to Korea will be handled in close consultation with local Korean firms, where McDermott can serve as a referral and cultural resource for our Western clients. We do not seek to provide any Korean law advice to any clients, internal or external. There is simply no need for us to seek to compete in the local marketplace.”
Jeffrey E Stone, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery, calls Korea “a vibrant economic market, but one where, due to legal restrictions, there has been little international law firm presence to date. We believe we are on the leading edge of what promises to be a wave of new activity in South Korea.”
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton have previously announced plans to expand into Korea. The FTA allows foreign law firms to open offices in Korea for the first time.
