Quickly Identifying Legal Issues and Proposing Solutions
Operating a Startup for Integrated Registration Management
Lowering the Barrier to Legal Services for SMEs
Providing Services Tailored to Client Needs
Preferring Problem-Solving Talent
Offering Legal Advice Throughout
the Entire Corporate Lifecycle, from Establishment to Dissolution
"Legal services are essential for all entrepreneurs, but startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find it difficult to access them easily. Large and medium-sized companies can utilize major law firms, but relatively smaller companies often feel the threshold to even a general lawyer is high. There is a high demand for legal services, but an inadequate supply to meet this demand."
Lawyers of Choi & Lee Law Office. Attorneys Choi Cheol-min, Moon Jae-sik, Kim Sang-hoon, Yoon Hyun-soo, and Lee Dong-myung (from left). Photo by Baek Seong-hyun, Legal Times reporter
Choi Cheol-min (38, 5th Bar Exam) CEO and lead attorney of Choi & Lee Law Office, stated that he established Choi & Lee in 2019 to address this issue. He said, "Our goal is to provide legal services tailored to the needs of startups and SMEs and become the 'Kim & Chang' for small and medium-sized enterprises."
Choi & Lee has its office in a shared workspace located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where many startups and SMEs gather, to reduce the distance between the firm and its clients. Attorney Choi explained, "We aim to create a free communication and autonomous work environment by being physically close to our clients, going beyond simple collaboration."
This flexible culture is also reflected in internal operations. Choi & Lee has actively adopted a remote work system, allowing up to 40% of working days to be worked remotely. This year, they plan to pilot overseas workations, a work style that combines working and vacationing simultaneously.
In addition to legal services, Choi & Lee is gaining practical business experience by directly operating startups. Examples include the legal tech service "Deung-gi Man," an integrated corporate registration management system, and "AUM Ventures," which focuses on early-stage investment and acceleration. Deung-gi Man was selected for the preliminary and early startup packages by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development and plans to expand from corporate registration to real estate registration starting this year.
Choi & Lee prioritizes quickly identifying legal core issues that clients might overlook and proposing solutions as a key working method. Lee Dong-myung (36, 8th Bar Exam), Deputy CEO and lead attorney of Choi & Lee, said, "In large companies, clients are often experts in their fields and clearly define their legal questions and issues. However, startups and SMEs recognize the existence of problems but often find it difficult to identify the core legal issues." He added, "Considering these differences, our core competitiveness lies in swiftly catching clients' needs, accurately analyzing issues, and proposing solutions. This is also why we prefer talents with problem-solving mindsets when performing our work."
Providing legal advice throughout the entire process from corporate establishment, operation, investment attraction, to dissolution and liquidation, Choi & Lee has established itself as a long-term partner beyond simple legal support. One gaming company handled all legal procedures from establishment to dissolution with Choi & Lee. Attorney Lee explained, "We built trust by being with the company from start to finish, and even after the CEO joined another company as an executive, we continued to provide legal advice."
Finally, Attorney Choi emphasized, "My dream is to step down in 20 to 30 years, asking a capable successor to maintain the name 'Choi & Lee.' We want to become a brand representing legal services for SMEs, not a law firm that merges and splits." He added, "In an era where everything is becoming easier, we seek joy in overcoming difficulties. As a group of companies and experts solving tough problems, we will steadily walk the challenging path and build a solid foundation."
Reporter Ahn Hyun, Legal Times
※This article was written based on content provided by Legal Times.
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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