Best American Law Firms in Korea

13 Responses to This Entry

1. Tim Miller on October 28, 2007 @ 7:40 am

   The same laws govern businesses and I assume law practices here in the Philippines too.  For a business to have any foreign partners, it must have 60 percent Filipino ownership.  So much for free and fair trade huh?

   Tim in Angeles sendzzzzzzzzz

2. Brendon Carr on October 28, 2007 @ 10:32 am

   Tim, I think you misunderstand Korea’s openness. It’s less open than the United States and much of Europe, but much more open than most other countries. For all but 20-something types of businesses, foreigners can own 100% of shares in a Korean corporation. No Korean partners are required by law except in those few closed or partly-closed businesses. The limitation on foreign lawyers practicing in Korea (and the Philippines) is something you’d find in most American states, by the way—lawyers have rules about professional licensing.

3. yo on November 02, 2007 @ 5:26 am

   I’m Korean American--- applying to law school soon--- but thinking about taking a year off before actually going to grad school. I was hoping to find an internship at a law firm in Korea (one that deals with foreign or overseas (read American) clients). Do you have any advice on how to go about this? Is this even a possibility? Thanks

4. yo on November 02, 2007 @ 5:34 am

   sorry brendon, i did see your responses to peers who are having similar quandaries… but unlike them, my korean (and american) are fluent. i also took a semester of chinese (planning on continuing) so maybe i could possibly do a little sino-korean as well? This should make me a competitive candidate?

   anyhow, after reading your replies here is my game plan: try to see if any alumni from my university here in LA are working in korean law firms… try to network with those, hopefully generous, fellows.

   get my parents to do some networking for me; hopefully their connections to Korea (Koryo) University will help me?

   And of course check out those links of “foreign-friendly” law firms… Any other suggestions?

5. Brendon Carr on November 02, 2007 @ 8:23 am

   Nope, no suggestions. You seem to have all your bases covered, and a good game plan. A semester of Chinese probably doesn’t give you any competitive advantage but I am sure that it will help you recognize Sino-Korean words and understand their context.

   Drop us your resume too and maybe we’ll convince the partners of the benefits of a year-long intern.

6. Heather on November 08, 2007 @ 1:31 am

   I have a question. My sister in-law has a Bachelors degree in Law from a University in Seoul, Korea. If she wanted to go to law school here in the states will they accept her degree and be accepted into any of the Law school in the United States if her test scores are high enough??

7. Brendon Carr on November 08, 2007 @ 7:59 am

   My guess is yes, but your sister-in-law would need to check with the American law schools she hopes to attend.

   For the one-year (two years if part-time) LL.M. courses of most ABA law schools—but not all—a “first degree” in law is required. For Americans that’s the JD, because the LL.B. is gone (it changed its name to JD); for most foreign university graduates the first degree in law is the LL.B.

   For admission to a JD course there is no requirement that the applicant have a degree in law at all. JD students just need a bachelor’s degree in something.

   I don’t imagine your sister-in-law will have a problem—tons of talented Koreans go to the United States for law school.

8. Mike on November 21, 2007 @ 1:54 am

   Hi Brendon, two questions:

   1) What is your background: where did you go to law school, and how did you end up in Korea? (Did I miss the link to your bio?)

   2) A good friend of mine is Korean. She speaks excellent English, went to law school in the US (and did very well), passed the bar exam, and is now practicing at a very prestigious international firm. However, while she would love to move back home to Korea, she seems skeptical that a Korean firm would hire her. I think she’s being irrational - she’s young, pretty, and has great credentials. What are your thoughts? How would you suggest she go about finding a job with a Korean firm? Thanks Brendon.

9. FA on December 02, 2007 @ 3:08 pm

   Mike, You’ll find answers to your questions in a previous Korea Law Blog article:

   http://www.korealawblog.com/entry/how_to_get_a_job_at_a_korean_law_firm/

10. SoMang Yang on February 29, 2008 @ 4:31 am

    Hey!

    Thanks so much for your helpful comments on this blog.

    I’m an undergrad student from Korea, prepping for the LSAT and thinking about applying to law schools in the States next year.

    I have written several inquiries regarding summer internships to several law firms, including yours, because they didn’t mention any such openings on their recruitment pages, but they haven’t gotten back to me. Is this an ominous sign? Will they even read my CV if I were to send it?

11. Brendon Carr on February 29, 2008 @ 7:11 am

    I think Korean law firms prefer to hire law students rather than prospective law students.

12. seoulmilk on March 02, 2008 @ 10:47 pm

    #10...kim and chang is always looking for prospective law students.  but you have to be willing to work there for more than a year.  you can get a taste of what lawyers do and build a strong network, which will come in handy whether or not you pursue law. 

    #11...brendon, does HMP have summer clerkship program?  my friends were interested in working in Korea during the summer but none of them applied to HMP because they said they couldn’t find any information regarding the program in the english site.  they assumed that HMP is only interested in korean students.

13. Brendon Carr on March 02, 2008 @ 11:15 pm

    seoulmilk,

    HMP’s current English-language website is a shameful disaster-area, deficient in almost every way. I have recently taken the reins and commissioned a sensible designer to help us build a modern, Web Standards XHTML/CSS site driven on ExpressionEngine so that we can easily add and update content.

    I don’t know if the lawyers at our firm will actually do that. They are practically insensate with respect to the need for us to market ourselves competently, and it’s been exasperating to try to convince people.

    Additionally, HMP has not been hip to the concept of summer clerks. We’re working to change that too. But for right now, we’ve outgrown our current offices and there is a concern about space as well as the ability to supervise.

    Still interested? Send resumes.

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