Kim & Chang and Lee & Ko were named among the Legal 500’s best law firms in Korea, its report said Thursday. The London-based firm’s annual assessment of the world’s legal industry said Kim & Chang topped the list across all 14 practice areas including merger & acquisition advisory, corporate finance, intellectual property and tax. The long-standing runner-up Lee & Ko outscored Kim & Chang in M&A in terms of combined contract size.
The report, a combined effort by Legal 500 and Thomson Reuters, said Lee & Ko consulted on M&A deals totaling $20.6 billion, edging past U.K.-based Linklaters and U.S.-based Vinson & Elkins which handled $20.38 billion and $18.91 billion of M&A deals each.

“Lee & Ko was aggressive in recruiting the most experienced experts in M&A deals of global scale since 2009,” said Lim Sung-woo, a lawyer at Lee & Ko. Lee & Ko is said to have recruited about 30 lawyers with expertise in labor, tax and trade disputes in the past three years. Kim & Chang currently employs 410 lawyers, the largest in the country. Lee & Ko has about 250.

The runner up company has been arguing that assessment of Kim & Chang has been inflated, saying it does not deserve the premium reserved for the dominant player.

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, widely considered the third most competitive law firm in the country, received top ratings in three categories ― dispute resolution, employment and energy. The industry is widely expected to see more competition with European law firms entering the Korean market. Globally renowned firms such as DLA Piper ― the world’s third-largest law firm ― along with Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy are among those looking to woo domestic customers, industry watchers said.

By Cynthia J. Kim (cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)