The firm advises companies on commercial transactions, corporate and operational matters, complex commercial and intellectual property disputes, and U.S.–Korea cross-border business. Clients work directly, in English or Korean, with senior U.S.-licensed counsel who brings more than 25 years of experience as both in-house and outside counsel.
Outside General Counsel
Many companies need experienced, senior-level legal leadership without adding a full-time general counsel or building an in-house legal department. Serving as Outside General Counsel, the firm works closely with executives and key decision-makers to identify and frame the legal and business issues, evaluate available courses of action, and develop practical solutions consistent with the company’s operational realities and strategic priorities. The firm advises on major contracts, employment matters, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, business sales and restructurings, governance, compliance, disputes, and other significant operational matters.
The role goes beyond identifying risks and coordinating legal work. Working alongside management, the firm helps weigh legal and commercial trade-offs, establish priorities, make informed decisions, and see those decisions through to practical implementation.
When specialized or local counsel is required, the firm selects and retains appropriate lawyers in the relevant jurisdictions, defines the scope and strategic direction of their work, manages their engagement, and integrates their advice into a unified course of action. The company gains a single senior legal adviser overseeing the overall legal strategy and coordination—rather than having to direct multiple firms separately—helping keep each matter aligned with the client’s objectives, budget, and best interests.
Discuss Your NeedsHow can we help?Experience that protects business value
Representative results from more than twenty-five years of negotiating critical agreements, protecting global operations, and resolving disputes in which substantial business value was at stake.
Employees across nine overseas factories
As General Counsel of a Carlyle portfolio company, directed legal affairs across its Seoul headquarters, New York branch, and nine overseas factories employing 23,500 people. During pandemic-driven financial strain, advised executive leadership and the board, led a company-wide workforce restructuring spanning headquarters and overseas subsidiaries, and secured significant relief from unfavorable supply commitments with major global customers.
Recovery maximized following two catastrophic factory fires
Within months of becoming General Counsel, personally led the company’s response to two catastrophic factory fires in Hanoi and near Ho Chi Minh City. Made repeated trips to Vietnam to assess and substantiate losses involving finished garments, raw materials, equipment, machinery, and factory facilities, while coordinating with Marsh and negotiating directly with Vietnamese state-owned insurers. After extensive negotiations, secured a recovery exceeding the maximum projected by Marsh.
Major MFN audit and arbitration successfully resolved
Defended SK hynix through a major audit and arbitration arising from allegations that it had breached a most-favored-customer provision. Uncovered the customer’s unauthorized disclosure of confidential pricing information, undermined the basis of its allegations, and secured the complete withdrawal of its claims.
Global supply and capital-equipment agreements
Negotiated multibillion-dollar semiconductor supply agreements with major customers in the United States, China, Taiwan, Europe, and Japan, as well as capital-equipment purchase agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars for semiconductor fabrication facilities in Korea and China.
Worldwide technology rights secured on improved terms
Led negotiations for Samsung Electronics’ worldwide agreement with Google covering the distribution of Google applications and operating-system technology on Samsung smartphones. Secured a first-of-its-kind contractual obligation requiring Google to indemnify Samsung against third-party intellectual-property infringement claims—a provision Samsung later invoked to obtain indemnification worth hundreds of billions of Korean won. Also negotiated a worldwide license covering essential electronic program guide patents used across Samsung’s global television business, reducing the applicable royalty by more than 50%.
Record royalty recovery secured through arbitration
Built the evidentiary foundation over a year of monthly DVD6C patent-pool meetings—presenting the factual and contractual basis for Samsung’s claim; ensuring that the record was accurately memorialized in the official meeting minutes; and managing outside counsel through arbitration. The effort secured more than $100 million for Samsung Electronics, the largest royalty recovery its Consumer Electronics Division had received at that time.
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