Questions Remain Over Dentons' Seoul Office as Legal Giant Combines With Korean Firm
Both Dentons and Lee International said the combination is not a joint venture. Lee International also said it will not integrate with Dentons' 6-year-old foreign legal consultant office in Seoul.
August 13, 2019 at 04:32 AM
4 minute read
As Dentons prepares to combine with a mid-sized South Korean firm, questions remain over the future of the global legal giant's six-year-old Seoul office.
Last week, Dentons announced it was combining with Lee International, a Seoul-based domestic firm with about 30 lawyers. Meanwhile, Dentons already operates in Seoul as a foreign law practice with the office it inherited from predecessor firm McKenna Long & Aldridge after the firms merged in 2015.
In a statement, Dentons said the combination will give it the ability to practise Korean law. Under Korean regulations, global firms can have access to the Korean market by opening a foreign legal consultant office in Seoul—which cannot offer Korean law advice—or through an alliance with a local firm. The only way a global firm can directly practise Korean law is by forming a joint venture with a local firm. Both Dentons and Lee International confirmed that the combination is not a joint venture.
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