Skip to main content

news

Shearman & Sterling will wind down its office in Seoul following an internal review of “strategic priorities,” a Shearman spokesperson said ahead of the firm’s planned merger with Allen & Overy.  

The integrated firm, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, if approved by a partner vote expected to take place in October, will have an office in the South Korean capital, the spokesperson said.

The lawyers at Shearman’s Seoul office already have arrangements in place, and the closure is not connected to the proposed merger, the spokesperson added.

The former leader of Shearman’s Korea outpost Anna Chung, who also helped set up the office, took her practice to Ashurst in May.  

Shearman’s Korea practice will continue to operate from its international offices, particularly its Asian offices in Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong, with its New York and London branches also playing a key role, the spokesperson said.

Shearman opened its Seoul outpost in 2019 and has focused on advising Korean clients on a full range of project-related work across the power, LNG, oil and gas and petrochemical spectrum.

The merger plan with A&O was announced in May. The tie-up would be one of the largest law-firm mergers in recent years, resulting in a firm with around 3,900 lawyers across 49 offices worldwide.

TO CONTACT EDITORIAL TEAM, PLEASE EMAIL ALBEDITOR@THOMSONREUTERS.COM

Related Articles

HKIAC opens 2nd mainland rep office in Beijing

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) has officially opened its Beijing Representative Office, becoming the first offshore arbitration institution to establish a presence in the Chinese capital.

Milbank becomes 2nd U.S. law firm to shutter mainland office in a week

U.S. law firm Milbank has confirmed to ALB that it will close its Beijing office, which has been operating for 18 years. This makes it the second top-tier U.S. law firm, after Paul, Weiss, to announce its intention to call time on its mainland operations this week.

SUBMISSIONS OPEN: ALB Firms to Watch (Singapore) 2025

Submissions open for ALB Firm to Watch (Singapore) list. The list will highlight the law firms with a more compact partner structure or focused practice in the country. The list will be published in the January/February 2025 issue of ALB Asia.