[Invest&Law] Large Law Firms Expanding Their Size

Kim & Chang Surpasses 1,100 Domestic Lawyers
All Top Five Law Firms Now Have Over 500 Lawyers
Law Firms Shift to 'Comprehensive Consulting' Strategies...
More Experts Recruited from Government Agencies

The number of domestic lawyers affiliated with Kim & Chang law firm has surpassed 1,100. It has been five years since it first exceeded 1,000 domestic lawyers among Korean law firms in 2020. The number of lawyers at Yulchon LLC also exceeded 500, making all of the top five law firms possess more than 500 domestic lawyers. YK LLC, which is expanding its business by establishing branch offices nationwide, ranked sixth in terms of the number of domestic lawyers, following Yulchon.

Five Law Firms with Over 500 Lawyers

According to the lawyer status as of February 25, 2025, disclosed by the Ministry of Justice, Kim & Chang law firm had a total of 1,103 lawyers. This is an increase of 38 from 1,065 as of February 29, 2024. It marks an increase of 100 lawyers five years after first surpassing 1,000 in 2020.

Kwangjang LLC maintained a similar level with 599 lawyers compared to 596 a year ago. This is a slight decrease compared to over 600 lawyers as of December 31, 2023. Sejong LLC increased by 37 lawyers from 532 a year ago to 569. Taepyungyang LLC also increased by 28 lawyers from 522 a year ago to 550.

Yulchon LLC recorded 500 lawyers for the first time as of November 25, 2024. As of February 25, 2025, it maintained this level with 504 lawyers employed. Thus, the top five domestic law firms all have more than 500 lawyers, expanding their scale. Hwawoo LLC, ranked sixth by revenue (based on National Tax Service VAT filings), has 345 lawyers, more than 100 fewer than the top five firms.

YK's quantitative growth is also notable. As of February 25, YK has 371 domestic lawyers, 26 more than Hwawoo. Compared to 235 lawyers as of February 29, 2024, the number of lawyers increased by 57.87% (136 lawyers). The rapid expansion through branch offices nationwide is also reflected in the number of lawyers. YK's revenue also jumped 96.82% from 78.6 billion KRW in 2023 to 154.7 billion KRW in 2024. Aggressive investment is analyzed to have led to revenue growth.

The revenue of large law firms shows Kim & Chang at the top with an estimated 1.5 trillion KRW last year, while firms ranked 2nd to 5th recorded revenues between 410 billion KRW and 360 billion KRW.

Trend of Increasing Recruitment of Experts from Institutions

The number of lawyers affiliated with the six major large law firms has generally increased slightly compared to a year ago based on revenue. Recently, large law firms are shifting from providing traditional legal services to offering 'comprehensive consulting.'

A lawyer from a major law firm explained, "To meet the needs of clients who want comprehensive services, it is no longer possible to recruit only lawyers who have long worked in the industry or those from courts and prosecution as before. There is a trend to recruit lawyers with experience and expertise from government agencies such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service according to needs."

Another lawyer from a large law firm said, "Law firms are now evolving into 'consulting companies.' Although there are already many experts in each firm, even if it does not lead to large-scale quantitative expansion, they steadily recruit lawyers needed according to new systems or regulations, and also increase recruitment of professional advisors or consultants besides lawyers." He added, "However, since corporate cases are decreasing, the selection of new lawyers or recruitment of lawyers from courts and prosecution is slowing down."

Reporter Suhyun Han, Legal Times

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.