After completing its foray into the European legal services market, YingKe, China’s second largest law firm by headcount, has turned its attention to Korea announcing a strategic alliance with local law firm Logos.
The two firms, which are also working towards formalising their relationship as a joint venture under the name Yingke&Logos, are hoping that the strategic alliance will allow them to increase their market shares in the fast-growing area of Korea-China cross-border investments.
According to Cui Yingmei, head of Yingke’s Korean practice, the fact that Chinese law firms remain prohibited from opening branch offices in Seoul makes the strategic alliance the best option for now, but did not rule out the possibility that the firm would open a representative office in the country if the requisite regulatory changes occur. “Building an alliance with a Korean law firm is the best way to enter the Korean legal market. We are hoping that both of law firms will know and adapt to each other better through the cooperation. After a period of working together, we will decide when the best time to open the joint firm YingKe&Logos is. ”said Cui.
In May 2011, delegates from YingKe visited six of the ten largest firms in Korea and finally decided to tie-up with Logos. "Logos has a similar business strategy to ours and the evolution of our firm’s has many similarities," said Cui.
Logos, formed in 2000, has quickly risen to become one of Korea’s ten largest law firms by headcount. It has 86 lawyers, and has offices in Beijing, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Moscow, and three offices in Korea (Seoul, Incheon and Song Do). The firm specializes in finance, tax, intellectual property, and international investment and trade.
YingKe, established in 2001, has 1583 lawyers and 20 offices across the world. The firm is known for its ambitious and aggressive expansion and plans to open a further 12 domestic offices and ten foreign representative offices over the next two years. ALB
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