The Korea Times interviews Kim Doo-sik, senior managing partner of Shin & Kim one of the country’s leading law firms about changes in Korea’s legal market coming September
Here’s an extract – read the full article at the link below
Many experts here say the first-stage opening will have little impact on the industry as the operation of legal consultancy business that cannot represent clients in court will only be allowed at this level.
But Kim Doo-sik, senior managing partner of Shin & Kim, one of the nation’s leading law firms, disagrees with the idea.
“We take it very seriously,” Kim said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “I see the upcoming opening will lead to a significant change of domestic clients’ attitudes toward legal service providers. I guess it will be as strong as full liberalization.”
Kim pointed to the presence of foreign law firms’ offices here as a key reason for his concern.
“Geographical closeness will help raise their exposure to Korean clients and eventually give them the idea that it’s possible for them to change their advisory partner to imported one at anytime unless services by a domestic partner are satisfactory,” he said.
Kim expected the liberalization to draw a new landscape of the industry in the long run, but added too much concern over the change is unnecessary.
He said there are two possible scenarios ? one witnessed in Germany and the other in Japan.
“Following full liberalization, Germany saw its legal service market dominated by overseas firms especially from the United Kingdom,” he said. “However, it’s quite different in Japan. Most major law firms there are homegrown. I predict Korea will place somewhere in between, meaning a change to some degree is inevitable, but not that much.”
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/117_50952.html
