Seoul, South Korea.McDermott Will & Emery Closes Seoul Office
The U.S. firm is only the second international firm to pull out from South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy.
July 12, 2019 at 08:06 AM
3 minute read
McDermott Will & Emery has closed its Seoul office, the firm has confirmed, becoming the second global firm to withdraw from South Korea.
The South Korean Ministry of Justice will cancel the U.S. firm's licence to operate a foreign legal consultant office in Seoul in the coming weeks, according to Korean legal news site Lawtimes.co.kr, which first reported on the closure.
"While we have closed our Seoul office, McDermott Will & Emery will continue delivering superior service to our South Korean, and Asia-based clients, from our more than 20 other global offices," the firm said in a statement.*
McDermott's former Seoul office representative, corporate partner Paul Kim, is now based in New York. McDermott's former Korea practice group head, corporate partner In-Young Lee, left in 2016 after two decades with the firm and joined leading Korean firm Lee & Ko in 2017. Both Lee and Kim relocated from New York to set up the Seoul office in 2012 – among the first wave of international firms to do so.
McDermott's withdrawal from Korea follows that of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which was also part of the 2012 wave. The New York-based firm closed its Seoul office in November of last year and relocated its Korea practice to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, two other U.S. firms have recently entered Korea, which is Asia's fourth-largest economy. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer opened an office in Seoul in February with White & Case's former Seoul office head and litigation partner James Lee, while Shearman & Sterling relocated projects finance partner Anna Chung from Singapore to launch an office last year. Arnold & Porter has since quickly expanded its Seoul office, recruiting two more partners from White & Case's Seoul office.
Following McDermott's exit, there are now 28 foreign firms in Seoul, of which 22 are U.S. firms.
Seoul was McDermott's only representative office in Asia. The Chicago-based firm has had a strategic alliance with Shanghai-based firm MWE China Law Offices since 2007.
*Updated Jul. 12: This story has been updated with a statement from McDermott Will & Emery.
|Related Stories:
Simpson Thacher to Become First Global Firm to Close Seoul Office
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Ashurst Beijing Chief Representative Leaves for New York Boutique Sterlington
Baker McKenzie, Norton Rose & Other Top Litigators Foresee Rise in AI, Data & ESG Disputes
Axiom-Ince: SFO Charges Five, Including Former Head, Following Investigation
3 minute read
SDT Upholds SLAPP Claim Against Osborne Clarke Partner Advising Nadhim Zahawi
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
