[Law Firm Now] Peter & Kim Law Firm, 'International Arbitration' World-Class... Leading the International Litigation Market

Led Litigation as Government Representative in 'Lone Star·Elliott Dispute'
Ranked 21st Worldwide This Year Among 'International Arbitration Law Firms'

Kim Gap-yu, CEO and lead attorney of Peter & Kim (center), is delighted holding the 'International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year' plaque awarded in March this year, together with foreign attorney Bang Jun-pil and partner attorney James Morrison (Sydney office).

‘Peter & Kim,’ the law firm that represented the Korean government in the Lone Star’s 6 trillion won investor-state dispute (ISD) case and the Elliott investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) annulment lawsuit, is gaining attention.

Peter & Kim is an international arbitration and litigation law firm with offices in Switzerland, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. In November 2019, Wolfgang Peter, a Swiss lawyer recognized as one of Europe’s most prestigious international arbitrators, and Kim Gap-yu, the founding attorney who has led the Asian international arbitration market for decades (Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 17, New York State Bar), jointly established Peter & Kim.

Peter & Kim’s Seoul office forms joint teams with lawyers from its Singapore and Australia offices and works organically in cooperation with its Swiss office, providing world-class services to resolve various international disputes in the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to founding attorney Kim, the Seoul office includes foreign attorney Bang Jun-pil (licensed in New York and New Jersey), attorney Lee Seung-min (Class 36, licensed in the UK and Singapore), attorney Shin Yeon-su (Class 37, New York State Bar, Wharton MBA, Harvard JD), attorney Yoon Seok-jun (Class 37, New York State Bar), attorney Han Min-o (Class 38, UK Bar), attorney Jo Ah-ra (Class 40), and attorney Yoo Eun-kyung (4th Bar Exam, New York State Bar), collaborating with lawyers of various nationalities.

Currently, Peter & Kim has 44 lawyers worldwide, including 28 in the Asia region. They hold bar qualifications in eight countries and are proficient in more than 14 languages, including Korean, English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Hindi, demonstrating strengths in international arbitration and litigation.

In March this year, Peter & Kim was ranked 21st globally in the ‘2023 GAR 30,’ a list of the top 30 international arbitration law firms selected by Global Arbitration Review (GAR), a specialized international arbitration media outlet, among hundreds of law firms worldwide. It was the only firm from Asia to be included in the GAR 30 for three consecutive years, reaffirming its status as a world-class firm in international arbitration. Peter & Kim was immediately selected for the ‘GAR 100,’ the world’s top 100 international arbitration law firms, in 2020, the year it was founded, then ranked 26th globally in 2021, 16th in 2022, and 21st this year.

Additionally, last month, Peter & Kim received the ‘2023 National Service Award’ in the legal services category at the award ceremony hosted by the Industrial Policy Research Institute (IPS), which evaluates services most chosen by consumers throughout the year.

Founding attorney Kim said, “All members across our offices are making their best efforts to provide world-class legal services in international arbitration and litigation. We pride ourselves on having the advantages of both large law firms and specialized dispute law firms. Since this is an international dispute field, we will do our utmost to deliver results to clients active on the global stage.”