KOREA
With legal services market liberalisation just around the corner, Korean firms have tapped into the international employment market in a big way, making a combined total of 15 hires over the past year
Bae Kim & Lee
- Managing partner: YS Oh
- Number of partners/other fee earners: 73/284
- Asian offices: Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing.
|
|
Partners
|
Fee
earners
|
Office opened
|
|
2008
|
68
|
253
|
|
|
2009
|
73
|
284
|
Shanghai
(25 Nov 2008)
|
Summary:
Bae Kim & Lee is again among the fastest-growing law firms in a Korean legal services market that is fast approaching liberalisation. In addition to having opened its one and only international office in Shanghai this time last year, the firm backed up its 2008 10% headcount increase by bringing six new partners and 29 fee-earners on board. Among these were the highly publicised hires of ICC arbitrators James Morrison and David MacArthur in May. This now means it is among only a handful of Korean firms with the resources to capitalise on the niche – yet fast-growing – area of international commercial arbitration in Korea.
Kim & Chang
- Managing partner: Young-Moo Kim
- Number of partners/other fee earners: 120/570
- Asian offices: Seoul
|
|
Partners
|
Fee
earners
|
|
2008
|
120
|
460
|
|
2009
|
120
|
570
|
Summary:
By far the fastest-growing law firm in Korea in this period, Kim & Chang increased its cache of fee-earners by 110 in 2009, an increase of nearly 24%, and has said that there will be plenty more strategic hires in the year ahead. This year the firm bolstered its practice with international hires including Fried Frank partner Edward Kim as a foreign attorney and Yulchon’s Youngjin Jung, in addition to bringing former judge Lee Hoe Kee on board in October.
Yulchon
- Managing partner: Chang Rok Woo
- Number of partners/other fee earners: 40/163
- Asian offices: Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City
|
|
Partners
|
Fee
earners
|
Revenue
|
|
2008
|
33
|
138
|
|
|
2009
|
40
|
163
|
up 20%
|
Summary:
It has been another year of strong growth at Korea’s ‘Law Village’. An ALB Employer of Choice law firm in Korea for 2009, Yulchon increased its fee-earner ranks by 17% in addition to welcoming seven new partners on board. This all played a large part in accounting for the 25% increase in revenues it witnessed in this period. On the hiring side the firm saw a number of prosecutors, judges and senior foreign counsel join in 2009, including Kim Tae Hyeon, Choe Jeong Yeol, Cho Jeong Cheol, Son Kum Ju, Lee Su Jae and John KJ Kim.
NEXT: Fastest growing firms in Malaysia, Vietnam & Singapore
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7