Our General Law Division has its roots in litigation.  Having been established by a former District Attorney General and a litigation attorney, our clients feel confident that when it becomes necessary to fight it out in court, our attorneys can effectively obtain the result that is desired.  Mr. Seung-Heui Ham, our senior partner, is the much respected former chief government Prosecutor who was in charge of investigating the corruption cases that led to the highly publicized historical indictment and imprisonment of two former presidents of Korea, not to mention numerous other precedent-setting cases.

Our Strength

       However, we are the first to admit that litigation should not be the primary dispute resolution mechanism.  In fact, we feel that an attorney's primary task is to prevent litigation.  To do so, a law firm should have an intimate knowledge and relationship with both the legal system and the business community of Korea.  In this regard, we have provided our service in almost every major discipline, from general corporate and commercial, mergers and project financing to Intellectual Property enforcement.

Client Service

       DeRyook and its clients recognize that the number of professional staff is not the only means of measuring our commitment to quality and personalized service.  Just as our biggest asset is our people, we fully understand that our biggest asset is our people, we fully understand that our clients are not just names of corporations or entities, but people with different backgrounds, goals and priorities.  Hence, by utilizing the latest communication technology, we have cultivated a strong tradition of associating a voice to a signature, and sending our professionals to our clients, wherever they are, rather than wait for visitors to seek our advice.

       Placing a special emphasis in providing our foreign clients with same-day response to their inquiries, we at DeRyook International are guided by the principles of prevention and proactivity.  What this means is that once our services are engaged, we will do all of the worrying on behalf of our clients.

An International Perspective

       In order to fully and effectively serve our international clients, it is imperative that our professionals have a global perspective as well as an appreciation that every issue is an integral piece of a larger picture. Our attorneys and patent attorneys have received training abroad and the scope of our expertise is as varied as the distinctiveness of our individual interests and identities. In fact, we are able to provide our service in Korean, English, Spanish and Japanese, and encourage our members to participate in various international organizations and events.

       In addition to representing foreign clients ranging from fortune 500 companies to individuals, we at DeRyook also act as outside counsel for a number of Korean multinational conglomerates whose business interests, ranging from automobile manufacturing to computer chips and multi-million dollar infrastructure construction projects, take us all over the world, allowing us to form working alliances with various distinguished firms in most major jurisdictions.

DeRyook is more than a law firm

     - Our Government Liaison Service
       Foreign companies wishing to do business in Korea are bound to encounter roadblocks beyond the ability of traditional law forms. DeRyook International is more than a law firm.  In additional to providing a full range of legal services, our Government Liaison Service places the expertise of our own attorneys' background and network cultivated during our prior civil service careers as well as those of respected consultants of our associate firms to facilitate and smooth relations with an appreciation of the administrative and legislative policy and decision process in creating a custom-tailored service package.  Where necessary, we are able to encourage changes in the administrative process that can expedite the achievement of our clients' success. 

     - Our Business Consulting & Networking Service
       As well, our Business Consulting and Networking service is able to provide innovative ideas and contacts in the private sector that can be used as a foundation for the establishment and implementation of a successful business presence in Korea, either in the form of a joint venture partner, investor, license, distributor, or franchise.  Without a doubt, the selection of the right local partner is one of the most crucial and deciding elements of success in Korea.  Our attorneys have played key roles in identifying and introducing local partners for such projects as development of restaurant chains, hotel franchising and management, fashion brand licensing, OEM supply agreements, distribution of goods, etc..

     - Our Anti-counterfeiting Program
      No other firm in Korea can claim to be more effective in developing and implementing both a short and long term solution plan to fight counterfeiting than DeRyook International.  Our guiding principles of Prevention and Proactivity are, likewise, nowhere more evident than in our attitude and approach to punishing counterfeiters and trade dress violators.  Be it in the garment and fashion industry, music and media industry or patent-related high-tech industry, our in-depth knowledge of the nature and make-up of the local market and our intimate relationship with the Prosecutor's Office and enforcement authorities equip us with the proven ability to prosecute both the manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit goods.

       Our Anti-counterfeiting program consists of a two-pronged approach of first ensuring that our clients' I.P. rights are fully secured at the documentary stage with the Korean Industrial Property Office and the Customs Office, and then proactively and systematically monitoring the major counterfeit markets.  Whereas clients usually spend money and time to hire investigators to locate counterfeiters and then instruct law firms to file criminal complaints against them, thus duplicating expenses and causing delays, we provide an integrated package that is fast, effective and long-lasting.  Our attorneys' collective experience as government Prosecutors, supported by in-house investigators recruited from the enforcement agencies, makes DeRyook International the most obvious choice of counsel in creating and implementing a custom-tailored enforcement program in Korea.