Baker McKenzie & KL Partners Joint Venture (Baker McKenzie KLP JV) has grown its international arbitration practice with the onboarding of veteran Sean Sung Woo Lim as a partner in Seoul, who has joined from Shin & Kim, one of the largest law firms in Korea.
“International arbitrations are becoming increasingly complex. With cross-border disputes gathering pace as businesses look overseas for growth opportunities and risk diversification, Sean’s arrival will bolster our ability to meet our clients’ growing needs,” Beomsu Kim, head of dispute resolution practice group for Baker McKenzie KLP JV, told Asia Business Law Journal.
Admitted to practice in both Korea and New York, veteran practitioner Lim had spent 35 years at Lee & Ko and was the co-head of the international arbitration practice, before joining Shin & Kim in June 2024.
Most notably during his time at Lee & Ko, he was Kyobo Life Insurance chairman Shin Chang-jae’s legal counsel when the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled in favour of chairman Shin, against a consortium led by Hong Kong-based private firm Affinity Equity Partners, over an unfulfilled initial public offering.
Recently, Baker McKenzie KLP JV has expanded its arbitration team with the addition of several partners, including international arbitration practitioners Sunyoung Kim and David Kim in May 2024 and December 2023, respectively. Both Sunyoung Kim and David Kim worked at Lee & Ko with Lim before joining Baker McKenzie KLP JV.
