‘The Kim & Chang team is exceptional in being hard working, talented and knowledgeable about the law in relation to arbitration, while focussed on meeting clients’ commercial objectives.’

‘Its diverse background and manpower cannot be compared to any other firms in Korea. They always strive to identify the client’s commercial coals and surpass the client’s expectations. They are very fluent even in business language and every industry and sector.’

‘Kim & Chang’s practice has a very talented and deep roster of attorneys from the associate through partner level. They are extremely well-prepared on matters and understand the issues in great detail, so are prepared to successfully argue as well as defend to their utmost ability.’

‘One of the top full service firms in Seoul. Deep bench of international arbitration specialists.’

‘Matt Christensen – highly respected for construction disputes. Sae Youn Kim – a big name in Korea.’

‘The team is experience in handling arbitration related matters and are very familiar with the process and timelines. At the same time, the firm has a reputable litigation practice that is able to assist with court-related matters in addition to arbitration, which is very useful.’

‘Shul Park is always very responsive and provides timely advice that is commercial and addresses the issues on hand.’

‘Probably the biggest international arbitration practice in Korea today. The strength and depth of its arbitration team are among the strongest in the region.’

‘Grace Yoon has outstanding commitment to cases. Very capable. Bright. Friendly to work with and one to watch for the future.’

‘The team has a lot of experience in international arbitration and cross-border disputes. Lee & Ko’s team was able to successfully represent us, and we are very happy with their service and quality of work. I appreciate the efforts to control the fees by refraining from unnecessarily including too many lawyers in the team.’

‘Sunyoung Kim is an impressive partner. The legal analysis in the submissions and memo that she provided to us was excellent. Her analysis was detailed and caught all the points. I got the impression that she had put a lot of efforts and energy into her work and that she was very meticulous.’

‘Sunyoung Kim and her team provide great quality of services, thorough attention to detail and very good communication. Ms Kim was able to provide guidance and assurance in a professional and comfortable manner by summarizing and explaining all main issues clearly and concisely. She also provided us with detailed analysis on imminent issues and timely and appropriate legal advice and solutions. I could see that she was extremely hard-working and client-oriented, and this demonstrates her unparalleled conscientiousness and strong work ethic.’

‘An experienced and capable international arbitration team that is highly responsive and nimble in adapting to unexpected events that crop up.’

‘Robert Wachter – His industry knowledge (over and above his technical skills) makes him stand out from the crowd.

‘Saemee Kim – High quality work combined with excellent stakeholder handling skills. You know that your matter will be in safe hands.’

‘Lee & Ko has come into its own and is now one of the better international arbitration teams in Korea. They have developed a deep bench of excellent foreign attorneys who carry the team.’

‘Woojae Kim is a very diligent and experienced partner. Very responsive and good communication both in English and Korean.’

‘BKL has a young team with a lot of energy. Talented young legal professionals with a lot of enthusiasm and creativity.’

‘BKL is great to work with, very responsive, client-oriented, knowledgeable, and thoughtful. Their billings have been reasonable.’

‘Junu Kim provides creative (but compelling) legal arguments to counterpoints put forward by the opposing side. An excellent lawyer. Always available to answer queries.’

‘The team is efficient in every sense of the word. Their response is timely, direct and appropriate. Work ethic is impeccable and strive to fully understand the client to provide the best possible legal advice.’

‘Innovation and creativity are the two words that come to mind. When in a tight spot, there is no other person I’d rather have representing me.’

‘Junu Kim in BKL is good at preemptively responding to ever-changing situations in the arbitration proceeding. Highly reliable.’

‘The team manages complex cases effectively, utilising their resources and coordinating the experts and witnesses. Also, the team is strong in making the best strategy based on the deep understanding of the client’s interest and the comprehensive knowledge of both arbitral process and related substantive laws. The firm’s practice is especially impressive in terms of the partners’ hands-on practice.’

‘P&K has many good partners who are dedicating to the case and excellent in their legal knowledge and profession.’

‘I can highly recommend Mino Han – a young partner at the firm – he plays a key role on project delivery. Good case management skills. Provides meaningful feedback on the expert work product. Good cross-examination skills.’

‘Kevin Kim and John Bang are two of the big names in the market. Brilliant lawyers who play a big roll at the hearing phase of the case.’

‘What makes Peter & Kim stand out in Korea (and even Asia) is how much experience the firm’s leadership has in conducting advocacy in high value cases. Unlike other firms, who often rely on barristers or external counsel, Kevin and John (as well some of the other partners) have been leading advocacy in some of the biggest mandates in the region themselves for decades.’

‘I cannot recommend Kevin Kim and John Bang more highly. They have been the foremost arbitration practitioners in the region for close to two decades now. Kevin’s oral advocacy and ability to simplify complex legal issues is useful to both the clients and the Tribunal. John’s understanding of the underlying commercial issues allows him to solve the fundamental problems the client is facing, instead of just offering legal advice. The combination of them working together allowed them to lead their previous firm to the highest level in Korea and is now the cornerstone of Peter & Kim’s growing practice.’

The firm also has a strong bench of younger partners, but I have particularly been impressed by Seokchun Yun and Mino Han. Seokchun is a bright young partner who has excellent written and oral advocacy skills. Mino is also a skilful young partner who has expertise in construction. The two of them are fluent in several languages (Seokchun in Korean, English, Japanese, Mandarin and German and Mino in Korean, English, and German)-and it is stunning to watch them engage with legal issues (and individuals) in different languages as and when required. I believe they represent the next generation of leading arbitration lawyers: truly international.’

‘Arie Eernisse – Senior Foreign Attorney (Partner) – has a key role within the team in terms of delivery of the legal submissions. Very accessible. Very smart. Visible in the market,

‘Youngwon Yoon – a lawyer who is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder, is able to engage with experts on the technical valuation issues.’

‘S&K provided the legal support for arbitration against a large entity within the country. The team’s willingness to learn complicated issues relating to technology transfer and proactive engagement in technology-driven issues set them apart from the rest’

‘Jaemin Jeon led the team to the successful result despite the difficult circumstances including management team changes’

‘The whole firm is very responsive and understanding to the client’s business sector, and the international dispute team was no exception. They respond quickly and effectively and ensure that we remain fully informed and that our input is sought in a comfortable and accommodating manner. Their advice was very practical, not only from a legal analysis perspective, but had very good insights on strategic issues.’

‘Youngwon Yoon has good understanding of how we as a public company thinks, was very competent and able to grasp the full spectrum of issues and was well experienced in cross border litigation and arbitration. He also provided a high standard of service on an extremely important matter for use.’

‘Very strong disputes team which punches above its size. They have marquee matters which are some of the most complex and interesting disputes.’

‘Beomsu Kim is the lead in the firm and is a star individual in the market on par with others in international firms. Young Suk and Eun Young Ian are two other names to watch. Brilliant lawyers and excellent at their work.’

‘White and Case team consists of veteran arbitration specialists with global reach and a reputation for handling sophisticated commercial arbitration. The team has great strength and depth, with a wealth of experience handling disputes across the globe including, Asia and Middle East markets. They are good at clear communication and responsiveness. The team is always available and dedicated to the case.’

‘Y&Y’s International arbitration team consist of team members who are very professional, intelligent and responsive. They are capable of handling complex and sophisticated matters and under great time pressure. Myung-Ahn Kim is in particular outstanding – she has been highly rated among the professionals she worked with and she is thorough, precise and a very effective advocate.’

‘Myung-Ahn is also exceptionally astute and a really good strategic thinker. She handles complex and sophisticated matters extremely well, and in particular, she is Incisive and unflappable under pressure and is really measured and thoughtful in her approach. She is definitely a go-to person for complex, high level international litigation and arbitration.’

‘YY’s team of lawyers are all very dedicated to the client’s needs. They have always outperformed other top law firms and have been my choice in various matters. I have had the pleasure of working with various teams at YY and I have always been satisfied with their performance and their billing.’

‘Sam Kim is a very talented lawyer who was recognized even as an associate as one of the best international arbitration lawyer in the market. He is mindful of the client’s needs and highly skilled in handling complex disputes. He is the go-to person when the company is in a tight situation and needs the best solution quickly.’

‘Sam Kim is one of the founding members of YY’s international arbitration team, is extremely talented and is able to hold his own against other well-known practitioners. He is both intelligent and hard-working, a combination that makes him a top notch lawyer. Naturally, construction disputes often trigger complex/nuanced issues which need careful scrutiny and Sam excels in that regard. ‘

‘They are excellent in communication with clients with focusing the case.  Myung-Ahn Kim is the best in advocacy and client communication in relation to the international arbitration case. She maximized the strength of the case and focused on emphasizing the opponent’s weak points, which led the big win of our arbitration case.’

‘Junsang Lee – Managing partner of the firm, very calm and collected.’

‘Kim, Myung-an is very good at strategically analyzing legal problems and coming up with reasonable solutions. I admire her logic and persuasion very much.’

‘Based on the expertise and experience required for international dispute resolution, accurate understanding of various legal issues and situations, they provide the best legal services in all areas of international conflict, from the early stages of conflict prevention and preparation to temporary disposition and enforcement.’

‘Clifford Chance stands out for consistency in terms of both quality and collegiality. Its teams, drawing from across its Asian and European offices, have always been highly collaborative. They have also always provided excellent advice and input, as well as advocacy, in a timely and effective manner. I always feel confident that they have put their optimal team on the matter.’

‘Thomas Walsh gets top marks from me for knowing his craft as well as the market. An outstanding advocate, he has a way of building up and giving opportunities to others as well. While now based in Hong Kong, and well-established there, he also spent a number of years in Korea where he single-handedly built up the reputation of Clifford Chance before it opened an office there.’

‘World class team of international arbitration lawyers, simply one of the best. No weak links, it is a strong team across the board. I have seen them as counsel before me several times and they are consistently excellent.’

‘Tom Walsh in Hong Kong has a deep knowledge of Korea and is active in very large cases around the region. A zealous advocate, but not overzealous. Very measured, reasonable and persuasive.’