Jincheng Tongda & Neal’s (JT&N) recent alliance with Korean firm San Gyung Law Firm is manifest of the increasing Sino-Korean work reported by  many firms from both countries.

The agreement, initiated by partners Jason Pang, Liu Zhihai, James Yang, Wang Yong, Yang Cheng and Fang Yan, is the part of the firm’s response to the increasing demand for legal service from the firm’s Korean clients.

“This is a breakthrough for both firms in view of our existing business model,” said JT&N’s committee of partners. “Both firms have rich resources, political, business and legal knowledge in our homegrounds and this will prove to be greatly beneficial for either firm,” the partners added.

According to JT&N’s partners, the agreement works on a referential basis. When clients are seeking legal advice regarding either firm’s home jurisdiction, the work would then be referred to the alliance firm and a temporary team with experts from both sides will be formed specifically for the project.

Four lawyers, including a senior partner, at JT&N, are proficient in Sino-Korean trade work, but the firm’s international affairs department, litigation and arbitration and IP practice groups are able to advise Korean-related matters.

The enthusiasm stems from both sides – Korean firms have also been actively imprinting their footsteps in the mainland. Shin & Kim recently launched its second China office in Shanghai, hoping to get closer to local clientele – both the Shanghai-based subsidiaries of Korean companies, and Chinese companies looking to invest in Korea – and target corporate, M&A and capital markets work.

However,  while some Korean firms have devised specific strategies in seizing Sino-Korean work, a few others have taken an opposite approach – Hwang Pak Mok recently closed its Shanghai office less than a year after acquiring it through a merger with another law firm, citing the office as ‘unsustainable.’ ALB

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