South Korea’s decision last year to lift restrictions barring U.S. and U.K. law firms from opening offices in the country resulted in some of the world’s leading firms applying to establish operations in that market.
Now, individual lawyers from three of the firms have received final approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Justice to be a foreign legal consultant — a key step toward opening offices in the country. The three are Ropes & Gray Korea practice chair William Yongkyun Kim, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton finance partner Seth (Byoung Soo) Kim, and Clifford Chance finance counsel Brian Cassidy.
