[Invest&Law] Yulchon Tops Major Law Firms in Competence and Client Satisfaction

2025 Law Firm Consumer Report
Top Scores in 13 Out of 14 Competency Categories
Ranked First in 17 Out of 19 Practice Areas

In the '2025 Law Firm Consumer Report' (a joint project by The Law Times, IHCF, and the Korea In-house Counsel Forum), Yulchon LLC received the highest scores among major law firms in 13 out of 14 competency evaluation categories, excluding government relations. Yulchon also ranked first in 17 out of 19 practice areas, including labor and employment, and finance and securities.

Pacific Law LLC received above-average evaluations in all 14 competency categories and achieved the highest scores in two practice areas?mergers and acquisitions, and international arbitration?out of 19 categories.

This evaluation was conducted through surveys and open-ended responses from 1,252 legal officers at 400 companies, including the nation's top 40 conglomerates, five major financial holding companies, and foreign corporations. The survey covered 1,607 domestic law firms, 29 foreign law firms operating in Korea, and two joint venture law firms. Evaluation items included 14 competency criteria such as expertise, professionalism, fee appropriateness, and willingness to rehire, as well as 19 practice areas such as fair trade, taxation, and personal data protection.

In the comparative analysis of seven major law firms that received more than 100 responses per category, Kim & Chang ranked first in government relations capability, and closely followed Yulchon in expertise and professionalism with an average score of 4.68, compared to Yulchon's 4.72. However, for fee appropriateness, Kim & Chang recorded a low satisfaction score of 3.2 on average, continuing the trend from 2024.

Jipyong received favorable overall evaluations, ranking second in public interest activities, among others. All seven major law firms received strong evaluations, with average scores above 4.0 in competency assessments, and the overall score differences were not significant.

Among law firms with 10 to 99 respondents per category, Peter & Kim received the highest ratings in three indicators: expertise and professionalism (4.7 points), substantive involvement of the responsible partner (4.7), and detailed and objective explanation of results (4.5). Changcheon LLC also continued its reputation as a 'hidden champion' from 2024, receiving top scores in two competency categories, including prompt handling.

Among law firms with 5 to 9 respondents, Namsan LLC, Yosu LLC, and Herb LLC were selected as 'Up-and-Rising Firms' after receiving high evaluations in multiple categories.

In the survey asking respondents to select the 'best law firm,' Yulchon (385 votes), Pacific Law LLC (369), Kim & Chang (274), Gwangjang (161), and Sejong (144) received the most votes, in that order. In the 'law firms that did not meet expectations' category, Kim & Chang (63 votes), Gwangjang (41), and Yulchon (31) were most frequently cited. Among foreign law firms newly included in the 2025 Law Firm Consumer Report, Paul Hastings, Skadden, and Milbank received consistently high marks for overall competency and in various practice areas. Joint venture law firms such as Ashurst Hwaryeon and Baker McKenzie & KL Partners were also recognized as outstanding in fields such as M&A.

Notably, as in the 2024 evaluation, small and mid-sized law firms received better ratings than large law firms in the fee appropriateness category. The average score for the seven major law firms was 3.92, lower than the 4.02 for law firms with fewer than 100 respondents and the 4.21 for small law firms with 5 to 9 respondents. Corporate legal officers generally agreed that large law firms have superior capabilities compared to small and mid-sized firms, but they found small and mid-sized firms to offer more attractive pricing in terms of fees.

Park Suyeon, Han Sujin, The Law Times reporters

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