Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP announced today that it has opened a foreign legal consultant office in Seoul, Korea, following the receipt of necessary approvals from the Korean regulatory authorities. The office is the firm’s sixteenth office worldwide and its third in East Asia and follows the opening of the firm’s office in Abu Dhabi last month.
Partner Yong Guk Lee and counsel Jay Hoon Choi have relocated to Seoul from Hong Kong to head the office. In addition, several Korean-speaking associates from the firm’s Korea practice are in the process of relocating to Seoul. Cleary Gottlieb lawyers in Seoul will continue to be fully integrated with the firm’s larger Asia practice.
“We are extremely pleased to be among the first international law firms to open an office in Korea,” said Cleary Gottlieb managing partner Mark Leddy. “Our Korea practice has grown over the years to become the leading international practice covering Korea, and having Cleary Gottlieb lawyers in Seoul will allow us to more efficiently and effectively serve both our locally-based clients as well as clients from outside the region doing business there.”
Cleary Gottlieb has had a vibrant Korea practice for more than two decades. With over 30 lawyers worldwide fluent in Korean (including five partners, two counsel, one senior attorney, and 10 associates based in Asia), the firm offers a talented and deep team of native Korean-speaking U.S. lawyers.
The firm also has an extensive network of relationships with leading Korean law firms with whom it works closely to ensure that clients receive exceptional Korean law advice.
Cleary Gottlieb opened offices in Hong Kong in 1980 and in Beijing in 2006. It has operated continuously in Asia through times of extraordinary changes in the economies of many Asian countries. The firm has developed a thorough understanding of the region and an unmatched ability to work for clients based in Asia and for those based outside of Asia doing business there. Today, the firm has over 50 lawyers resident in Asia serving the needs of those clients.
