Stephenson Harwood eyes Autumn opening in Seoul after receiving licence
Stephenson Harwood (SH) is set to open in South Korea in the Autumn after receiving its licence to practice in the country from the local Ministry of Justice.
August 04, 2014 at 06:07 AM
2 minute read
Stephenson Harwood (SH) is set to open in South Korea in the Autumn after receiving its licence to practice in the country from the local Ministry of Justice.
The UK firm first announced plans to launch in the capital city Seoul in February, after hiring DLA's Korea managing partner and Seoul chief representative Michael Kim to lead the venture.
It will be the 20th international law firm to open in the city since South Korea opened its legal market to foreign players in 2012, a move which followed the ratification of free trade agreement (FTAs) with Europe and the US in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Kim, who focuses on shipping, ship finance, shipbuilding and offshore and general commercial litigation and arbitration matters, is one of the few senior Korean lawyers qualified to work as an office chief representative in Seoul – the requirement being that all chief reps have practised in the firm's home jurisdiction for at least three years.
His move to SH meant DLA was temporarily required to close its Korean office for a period of four working days while it transferred its office licence from the International LLP to US LLP, allowing it to name US qualified Daniel Lee as the new leader.
Since joining SH, Kim has split his time between London and Seoul, but will move permanently to Seoul later this year.
Working alongside him in the Korean practice will be shipping litigation partner Sean Gibbons, shipping finance partner Mike Philips, shipping and energy partner Stuart Beadnall and ship finance partner Gregg Johnston.
The firm's existing Korea practice focuses on representing large conglomerates across shipping, ship-building and ship finance work, banking and trade, with clients including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, STX Corporation, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM).
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