Most Victims Lose Due to Lack of Legal Knowledge
Like David Fighting Goliath
Dreaming of a Company That Speaks Up for the Unprotected
“‘Dosigwa Saram’ is a law firm that accompanies the city from its creation to its disappearance, serving the people within it. You could say it is a David-like law firm fighting against Goliath.”
Lee Seung-tae (56, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 30), the representative lawyer of Dosigwa Saram, a law firm showing remarkable activity in the fields of environment, construction, and real estate, explained, “A city is a ‘melting pot’ where everyone mingles regardless of income or origin,” adding, “We named the firm ‘Dosigwa Saram’ because we wanted to provide legal services with the skills we have accumulated to those who find it difficult to get help from large law firms.” We met with Representative Lawyer Lee and lawyers Joo Deok (45, Bar Exam 3rd) and Gye Min-hye (45, 5th) at their office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 17th.
On the 17th, lawyers are smiling at the office of the law firm Doshiwa Saram in Seocho-dong, Seoul. From the left, lawyers Byungdo Lee, Deok Joo, Minhye Gye, Chief Lawyer Seungtae Lee, and Heewon Lee. [Photo by Baek Seonghyun stwhite@]
Representative Lawyer Lee explained the firm’s philosophy of mainly handling ‘non-mainstream’ cases. The primary focus of Dosigwa Saram is the environment. He emphasized, “The environment must be protected unconditionally, regardless of political orientation,” and added, “It is a field where lawyers are absolutely necessary in our society.” He said, “I understand that there are fewer than 20 registered environmental specialist lawyers according to the Bar Association’s standards,” and “Most belong to large law firms, but they do not focus on environmental issues as much as we do.” He continued, “Many environmental pollution victims are not well-versed in the law, so sometimes a paralegal provides consultation, and clients mistakenly hire law firms without specialist lawyers, resulting in losing cases they could have won,” adding, “Seeing such cases makes me angry, and that anger seems to be my driving force.”
A representative case is when they represented residents of Morye Village in Sacheon-si, Gyeongnam, and won against a nearby shipyard. This ruling was also the first victory under the Ministry of Environment’s litigation support system for vulnerable groups. They volunteered to take the appeal after losing in the first trial and overturned the decision. They persuaded the court to conduct an on-site inspection and requested appraisal costs from the Ministry of Environment, leading to their victory.
Lawyer Lee emphasized, “You cannot pursue environmental litigation if you think about money.” Lawyer Joo added that in a recent case they handled, the fee difference with the opposing party was two digits. However, Lawyer Joo explained, “As you handle environmental lawsuits, your expertise grows, which helps in other cases,” and “Because expertise in complex construction and environmental issues increases significantly, we tend to win and earn profits in cases like damages claims due to infringement of sunlight rights.”
The sense of fulfillment gained from such cases is also a significant benefit. Lawyer Gye started her legal career at Dosigwa Saram and has worked there for nearly seven years. She said, “I specialize in plaintiff litigation and have mainly faced large law firms,” adding, “Although the lawsuits were not easy, I am satisfied because I learned a lot in the process of finding solutions.” She also said, “Without motivation like anger, you tend to respond mechanically,” and “You need to think of it as your own case to come up with more creative arguments.”
Lawyer Joo, who has been with the firm for ten years, said, “There are not many places that share the values of representing and voicing for people who cannot be protected by capable lawyers.”
Dosigwa Saram, a small to medium-sized law firm, is also famous for its groundbreaking parental leave policies such as ‘paternity leave’ and allowing ‘two team members to take leave’ (related article). Starting next month on the 1st, they will provide scholarships to employees with high school and university children. They show warmth toward people not only outside but also inside the firm. Lawyer Lee proudly said, “Employees jokingly call it ‘Dosigwa Sarang’ (Dosigwa Love).”
When asked about plans, Lawyer Lee said, “Dosigwa Saram is a law firm that dreams of the future,” adding, “Rather than recklessly expanding the castle on sand, we will grow while solidly laying the foundation.” He also revealed, “Based on our four years of experience providing legal services related to drones, we plan to establish a ‘Future Law Center’ to enter future-related fields.”
Jo Han-ju, Legal Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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