SEOUL, July 25, 2012 (ANTARA/PRNewswire-Asia) -- Squire Sanders has announced that partner and Korea practice leader, Joon Yong Kim, has been officially registered as a foreign legal consultant by the Korean Bar Association.
Mr. Kim's registration follows approval from the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Justice received on 9 July. As a foreign legal consultant, Mr. Kim is now permitted to practice in Korea and, on behalf of Squire Sanders, he has applied for a license to open an office in Seoul.
Joon Yong Kim was born and raised in Korea, and also spent time in Tokyo before completing his education in the United States. He began his legal career in 1982 with Graham & James, which had one of the leading legal practices in the Asia Pacific region and which later merged with Squire Sanders. In 2000, Mr. Kim moved to Sidley Austin's Los Angeles office as a partner. He joined Squire Sanders in 2009, and has been working from the Tokyo and Los Angeles offices.
Mr. Kim has vast experience of both transactional and contentious work. Over the course of his career, he has advised on numerous cross-border M&A and other corporate transactions, including, most recently, a US$4 billion steel mill joint venture in Brazil for a Korean steel maker. On the contentious side, Mr. Kim has considerable experience of both international arbitration and litigation in the U.S., most notably representing Korea-based global electronics manufacturers in intellectual property disputes.
"This is a major step towards establishing an office in Seoul for Squire Sanders," commented Mr. Kim. "Having advised Korean companies and multinationals with business interests in Korea for over 30 years, it has been my long-held ambition to launch an office in Korea.
"I am excited at the prospect of being able to work with existing and new clients from a local office. We will be able to offer Korean businesses the benefit of our global experience, delivered by a Seoul-based team that is accessible and has genuine local knowledge."
With the launch in Seoul, Squire Sanders will have 38 offices in 19 countries, with more than 1,300 lawyers worldwide.
About Squire Sanders
Founded in 1890, Squire Sanders has one of the strongest integrated global platforms. With our longstanding "one-firm firm" philosophy, Squire Sanders provides seamless legal counsel worldwide. It has strong practices in markets where Korean businesses want to expand, particularly in China and the Asia Pacific region, South America, the US, Europe and the Middle East. Our presence in Asia dates back to the 1950s, making Squire Sanders one of the first global legal practices operating in the region.
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