HWANG MOK PARK

A merger, a mainland China presence and some big deals mean this firm has the momentum to shake the Korean legal services hierarchy in 2010

Hwang Mok Park may have been flying under the radar in a mega-firm dominated Korean legal market, but its 2009 merger with Hanseung, a boutique litigation outfit, and its work on some high-profile M&A deals such as eBay’s acquisition of Gmarket has well and truly catapulted it into the ranks of the country’s largest firms.

 Its merger will not only elevate it into the Top 10 law firms by size in Korea but gives it the size needed to move even further up the increasingly fluid legal market hierarchy. “Our merger with Hansueng earlier this year took us to 120 lawyers, and in Korea, 100 has typically been the critical point for achieving good specialty practices,” declared one of the firm’s managing partners, Park Sang Il, early this year.

Critical mass wasn’t the only thing that the firm gained out of the merger; it also inherited a Shanghai office, which although only in the early stages of its development is already being seen as crucial to the firm’s broader growth strategies. “So far the office largely assists Korean businesses going into China,” he said. “But in the long term when Chinese companies are seeking to do business in Korea, we’d see the Shanghai office as a good foothold for that. We’ll be developing a strategy going forward on how to achieve that growth.”

KENSINGTON SWAN

Kensington Swan is breaking new ground with its office in Abu Dhabi – blazing a trail that many firms in Australia and New Zealand will be looking to follow in the future

Kensington Swan has been building relationships in the Gulf for over five years, but in December it took the plunge and opened an office in Abu Dhabi. The office caters for locally based companies, New Zealand and Australian companies looking to set up business in the Gulf region or looking to attract direct foreign investment out of the Gulf region, and the government sector, which has long been a Kensington Swan specialty. It’s an intriguing move, particularly coming from a New Zealand firm.

It is the Australian firms which are usually in geographical expansion mode, yet Australians have generally eschewed the Gulf for proximity reasons. Colin Biggers & Paisley is believed to be the only other Australian or New Zealand firm to have a partner permanently on the ground in the Gulf, and that firm also has a joint venture operation in Dubai with local firm Lutfi & Co. The Kensington Swan model, based on the competitive advantage of an NZ-dollar cost base, and the capacity to provide quality advice in areas traditionally neglected by global firms, is one to watch.

KHASAWNEH & ASSOCIATES

2009 was a year of phenomenal growth for Middle East outfit Khasawneh & Associates but how will they keep the momentum going?

Khasawneh & Associates’ regional coverage coupled with its equally wide practice offering set it apart from other ‘domestic firms’ in the Middle East and make it one Gulf firm to watch in 2010. The firm, through its membership of KSLG, a regional association of firms across the Gulf, boasts offices in Amman, Baghdad and Dubai and says that further expansion is imminent.

“The firm’s regional expansion will proceed in a significant manner in the coming year,” said Nasser Ali Khasawneh, the firm’s founding partner. “On January 1, KSLG will announce the launch of its office in Saudi Arabia, in partnership with the law firm of Mohammed Al-Dhabaan & Partners, a leading firm in the country with a proven track record in various sectors.  KSLG will also be opening an office in another GCC country by the summer of 2010,” he said.

Despite a financial crisis which has seriously impaired the growth strategies of many firms in the region, Khasawneh & Associates has ploughed on, both increasing its headcount by 30% in 2009 and outlining a commitment to delivering more of the same in the year ahead. Watch for the firm, which already has enviable regional outside counsel relationships with companies such as Microsoft and Philip Morris, to continue to lure blue-chip clients away from the larger players in the Middle East. “Our firm is a regional firm that employs leading lawyers from the region and around the world, and is committed to international standards of excellence. We aim to provide top of the line legal services to our clients, and maintain close involvement with the client at the partner level. We are also engaging in an ambitious regional expansion plan through KSLG. It is this combination of a region-wide firm with international standards of excellence, as well as a growing capacity to cover the work throughout the region, that sets us apart from many of our competitors,” said Nasser Ali Khasawneh
 

 MARKS & CLERK

What lies ahead for one of Asia’s market leading IP firms?

A new Malaysian office, a high-profile lateral hire in the form of Gerard Samuel and a commitment to further expansion make specialist IP firm Marks & Clerk one to watch in 2010 — although the firm is a little circumspect when it comes to this tag. “We don’t aim to make headlines,” said the firm’s chairman Keith Hodkinson. “We focus on going about our business quietly and delivering the best possible client care.”

Hodkinson’s preference for an understated approach aside, Marks & Clerk is set for a bigger 2010 than most others. Its presence in KL means that the firm now has one of the most extensive networks of any specialist IP firm in a region which is becoming increasingly important to the growth strategies of IP law firms (it has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai).

Expect the firm to dip into local employment markets in the region to reinforce its Asia offices.  “We are actively looking at other Asian markets and looking to pick up talent from the firms who have fared less well in the recession,” said Hodkinson. “Our business in Asia continues to grow and it grew significantly through the recession. By offering a quality value proposition, the businesses who have a medium-term view have stuck with us. Long-term values survive short term shocks.”

NEXT: Norton Rose’s acquisition of Deacons Australia not only created headlines in 2009, but will continue to do so in 2010 … perhaps for different reasons

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