Outstanding Case Understanding and Legal Analysis
Law Firms Say "Ready for Immediate Deployment"
There is a growing tendency among mid- to large-sized law firms to prefer judicial research clerks (commonly known as "law clerks"), who are regarded as "proven talent." This is attributed to their higher level of case understanding and legal analysis skills compared to newly qualified lawyers, making them immediately deployable in practical work without additional training.
Dongin Law Group did not hire any new lawyers over the past three years; however, in 2025, the firm newly recruited five individuals with law clerk experience. All of them passed the 11th Bar Exam in 2022, completed their law clerk terms between May and July 2025, and joined the firm immediately thereafter. By region, two served at the Seoul High Court, one at the Daejeon High Court, and two at the Busan High Court. In terms of law school background, two graduated from schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, and three from regional law schools.
Barun Law LLC has been separately recruiting law clerks through its corporate website since 2024. For the 2024 recruitment, announcements were posted from early January to early February, and for the 2025 recruitment, from early December of the previous year to late January, with five law clerks selected each time. In May 2024, five individuals who passed the 10th Bar Exam joined the firm, with their work regions evenly distributed among the Suwon, Seoul, and Gwangju High Courts. In May 2025, five individuals who passed the 11th Bar Exam joined, all of whom had served at the Seoul High Court. Of the ten most recently hired law clerks, nine graduated from law schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, and one from a regional law school.
WON Law Firm has also consistently hired law clerks over the past three years. In May 2025, the firm recruited three individuals who passed the 11th Bar Exam; in November 2024, one who passed the 9th Bar Exam; and in May 2023, two who passed the 9th Bar Exam.
Law clerks are generally highly regarded for their "practical capabilities." A partner at a mid- to large-sized law firm commented, "Law clerks have a deeper and more sophisticated approach to understanding cases than lawyers with three to four years of experience at a law firm." He added, "Although there is a possibility that they may become judges in two to three years, and their labor costs are higher than those of new lawyers, the demand is sufficient to offset these factors."
However, some point out that there are variations depending on work experience. A recruitment lawyer at another mid- to large-sized law firm said, "There are differences in practical abilities depending on which judge they worked under and what types of cases they handled."
Seo Hayeon, The Law Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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