More Law-Firm Merger Talk
by Brendon Carr
Yes, Dad—I’m still alive. Just been busy. (And disgusted, a bit.)
Seoul’s law-firm merger rumor mill is in high gear, putting one of the “Big Four” law firms at which I used to work in talks with mid-sized Korean law firm KCL (formerly Kim, Choi, and Lim) about bringing the 61 KCL professionals onboard, cementing (only for the moment, I would presume, as this would trigger a cascade effect) the acquiring firm’s position as “Number 2” after Kim & Chang with close to 300 professionals. It seems as if all of the mid-sized law firms which had proven their ability to do some form of corporate work are in play as the Big Four, plus two, continue expanding.
Korean law-firm headcounts are difficult to reckon, because websites are updated very infrequently and some firms also seem to report differently to regional trade media like Asia Law & Business or Korea’s own local Law Times. Some of them don’t include foreign legal consultants or patent attorneys, who are licensed separately, while others—eager to inflate their apparent size, by counting every fee-earner—do.
Since law students at foreign institutions seem to comprise many of Korea Law Blog’s readers, let me offer this: Consolidation in Korean law firms, in my opinion, will paradoxically increase demand for foreign-licensed attorneys, as the larger the firms get the more likely they are to attract domestically-originated international work as well as inbound work from multinationals.
UPDATE 8/8—Word on the street is that KCL and its prospective counterparty were unable to agree on merger terms, with the large firm’s partnership voting down the proposal from KCL. Probably this would be due to different levels of revenue and profitability, as is the case around the world.
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