The objective of the survey was to identify leading local law firms in six Asian jurisdictions (including Korea) where international law firms are restricted from practicing freely. In order to discover this, Asialaw asked 250 international law firms in the world which local firms they most often refer work to in those countries. Asialaw sent the poll to managing partners and partners at international firms both in Asian jurisdictions and at the headquarters around the world.
Asialaw then conducted extensive market research to reveal which local law firms were active in assisting international firms on major deals in the last year. This data was used to corroborate the voting that was provided by the international firms.
Individuals at international firms were asked to identify their preferred local counsel in the following six jurisdictions: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines and South Korea. Participants were also asked to filter these choices into areas of legal practice. The six broad categories offered were: banking & finance, corporate & commercial, dispute resolution, intellectual property, IT, telecoms & media, and shipping.
The survey asked lawyers to identify up to five different law firms in each practice area and each jurisdiction. Where an individual nominated five different firms in a practice area, this was treated as a ranking (unless otherwise stated) and points were awarded accordingly.
These results were then cross-referenced with the independent research conducted by Asialaw. Where a local law firm was both voted for by an international firm and that information was substantiated by independent research, those local law firms received a weighted ranking.
The top three firms in each category were then ranked according to total points attained. Those firms with an equal number of points were awarded an equal ranking:
In the following results, Lee & Ko became the only Korean law firm which achieved a top 3 placement for all of six practice areas.
IT, Telecom & Media
1. Lee & Ko
2. Hwang Mok Park
2. Shin & Kim
3. Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu
Banking & Finance
1. Shin & Kim
2. Kim & Chang
3. Lee & Ko
Corporate & Commercial
1. Kim & Chang
2. Lee & Ko
2. Shin & Kim
2. Bae, Kim & Lee
3. Woo Yun Kang Jeong & Han
Dispute Resolution
1. Lee & Ko
1. Bae, Kim & Lee
2. Kim & Chang
2. Horizon Law Group
3. Kim, Choi & Lim
Intellectual Property
1. Lee & Ko
1. Kim & Chang
2. Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu
3. Cho & Partners
3. Lee International IP & Law Group
3. You Me Patent & Law Firm
Shipping
1. Kim & Company
2. Choi & Kim
2. Lee & Ko
2. Pusan International Law Offices
3. Bae, Kim & Lee
Asialaw Local Law Firms Survey