Korea’s two mid-sized law firms, LKB & Partners and Pyeong San, have agreed to merge in the pursuit of handling more cross-border work through scaling up their services.
“To handle more cross-border work, the firm plans to recruit foreign attorneys and form partnerships with overseas law firms. In the long run, the firm also has plans to establish overseas offices,” Heejun Kim, managing partner at LKB & Partners, told Asia Business Law Journal.
The two firms signed the memorandum of understanding on the strategic merger on the 29 April at LKB’s headquarters in Seoul.
Byong Hyon Kim, managing partner at Pyeong San, told Asia Business Law Journal that his firm mainly handled inbound work from China and Hong Kong to Korea in the entertainment industry. “However, we are expecting that outbound work would also increase as corporate conditions improve,” said Byong Hyon Kim.
Heejun Kim echoed Byong Hyon Kim’s sentiment stating, “Our first prime targets will be China and Southeast Asia.”
The official websites said the combined firm, to be called LKB Pyeong San, would have 120 lawyers in total.
Byong Hyon Kim elaborated on the reasons behind their firm’s ambitions for growth.
“Korean law firms must scale up, as specialisation can only be achieved through increased size. A larger firm is better positioned to develop specialised expertise, deliver superior client service and attract high-profile cases,” he said.
Both LKB & Partners and Pyeong San said the merger would be finalised by the end of May.
“Our goal is to be ranked among the top five law firms in the country within five years. We will not stop here; we will continue merging with other law firms,” said Heejun Kim.
Founded in 2012 and 2018 respectively, LKB & Partners and Pyeong San are law firms comprising mainly former judges and prosecutors, handling contentious legal matters.
