This is what managing partner Lee Chun-su (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 32) of law firm LX said at an office in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. LX is a new law firm founded in September last year. Lee, who worked at Kim & Chang until recently, set up LX with the ambition of helping small and midsize corporations.
LX was founded around managing partners Lee Chun-su, Lee Seung-cheol (class 29), and Moon Jun-seop (class 29), all formerly of Kim & Chang. Lee Seung-cheol also worked in the legal group at LG Electronics from 2019 to 2023 and left as an executive director.
Since then, former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief Jeong Jin-woo (class 29), former Director General prosecutor Kim Hyeong-ju (class 32), and former senior judge Park Min-woo (class 35) have joined. There are now 16 lawyers on staff.
The meaning of "LX" is Legal Transformation (in English-speaking countries, "Trans" is written as "X"). It reflects a determination to bring change to legal services, like digital transformation (DX). The interview was conducted with managing partners Lee Chun-su and Lee Seung-cheol. The following is a Q&A.
—What goals did you set when you left Kim & Chang to create law firm LX?
(Attorney Lee Chun-su) "Quite a lot of midsize and small corporations want comprehensive legal services but worry because the expense is high. We wanted to provide tailored services."
(Attorney Lee Seung-cheol) "There are many cases where small and midsize corporations do not receive proper legal advice. It is common for legal teams not to have in-house lawyers. Issues that could have been nipped in the bud with early legal advice often spiral to the point where they cannot be contained later. Because of the preconception that 'it costs a lot of money,' they often don't even consider getting proper help. So there is supply and demand, but the two sides are failing to meet."
—Why is expert legal advice essential?
(Attorney Lee Seung-cheol) "For example, the company I worked for, LG Electronics, had about 80 in-house lawyers in total, domestic and overseas. Major cases are outsourced, and the 80 mainly review contracts. They review not only major transaction contracts but also contracts for items purchased by the general affairs team. Small corporations often proceed with major transaction contracts without lawyer review and end up holding the bag when something goes wrong later."
(Attorney Lee Chun-su) "In HR and labor, lawyers' assistance is also essential. Regulations have been significantly tightened recently, and industrial accident cases occur in manufacturing."
—What do you see as law firm LX's strengths?
(Attorney Lee Chun-su) "A culture of collaboration. It's a hallmark of Kim & Chang. When a case or advisory request comes in, the lawyer who takes it on doesn't handle it alone but works with the in-house expert with the most relevant skills. We are also well trained to dig in to the end."
—Managing partners or partners have been trained, but junior lawyers have not had those opportunities.
(Attorney Lee Chun-su) "We seek to hire junior lawyers with potential. In my experience, those with a good attitude grow. Even if so-called 'specs' are lacking, junior lawyers with a good attitude, strong writing, and structured thinking can fully develop into excellent lawyers. In fact, if grades slip a bit in college because of dating, you may not get into a top law school, but you can't judge a junior lawyer's potential by such metrics."
—If there is a case where you helped a small corporation in crisis.
(Attorney Lee Chun-su) "When raising livestock in a barn, some fail to grow properly and die early. Livestock businesses must have a 'dead livestock disposal machine' to handle the carcasses. There was a corporation operating a large pig farm. A spark near the disposal machine caused a fire that burned the barn down, resulting in damage of about 10 billion won.
The livestock corporation filed a damages suit against the disposal machine manufacturer, but the manufacturer was small enough that paying full compensation could have forced it to close. The large law firm representing the livestock corporation argued that the fire was caused by a defect in the disposal machine, but I proved the fire was not caused by a defect in the machine and won a judgment that there was no need to pay even 1 won in compensation.
However, we are not focusing only on small and midsize corporations. We handle more large-corporation cases and can provide quality legal services across the board."
Law firm LX has several members with science and engineering backgrounds. Managing partner Lee Chun-su and attorney Park Min-woo majored in mechanical engineering; attorney Jang Jae-hyeok, formerly of Kim & Chang's IP team, majored in physics; attorney Lee Yong-woo majored in electrical and electronic engineering; and attorney Song Seok-jun majored in oriental pharmacology. Attorney Do Ju-ho and attorney Lee Young-jae, graduates of the National Police University who worked on police teams at Kim & Chang and Sejong, and attorney Kim Ho-jun, a former certified public accountant at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers who worked on the finance team at Kim & Chang, are also adding strength.
—The roster includes many with science and engineering backgrounds and graduates of the National Police University.
(Attorney Lee Chun-su) "We did not deliberately recruit that way. But understanding technology is a major asset in intellectual property (IP) cases. Graduates of the National Police University also help in criminal matters because they know police culture and practices well at the pre-indictment stage."