White & Case partners insist that Korean lawyers now must adopt a more comprehensive approach to problem-solving during the law firm’s session at the In-House Counsel Forum (IHCF) spring academy.
The IHCF, an in-house counsel association based in South Korea, hosted its annual spring academy at the Grand InterContinental Parnas hotel in Seoul on 17 May 2025. Around 100 members of the IHCF attended six sessions covering topics such as greenwashing, illegal dispatch, M&As in the US, international negotiations and cybersecurity regulatory enforcement trends.
The key highlight of the sessions was the White & Case presentation hosted by partner David Lim and local partner James Hsiao, titled Navigating a New Era of Korea-US Relations. The White & Case partners emphasised that lawyers in Korea must navigate the growing complexities of trade-related enforcement measures under the Trump administration.
“To give good counsel in this new era, we as lawyers must adopt a more comprehensive and dynamic approach to problem-solving. It’s no longer enough to simply issue a memo stating what the law says; we now need to provide a practical action plan — within reason, since nobody has a crystal ball,” said Lim.
Hsiao cited the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) recent announcement as an example of the enforcements of note. The BIS announced on 13 May that the US government decided to abolish the Biden Administration’s AI Diffusion Rule, while effectively banning the use of Huawei’s artificial intelligence chipsets in all countries.
“The maximum pressure is very much happening; enforcement will happen, it’s real and it’s the priority,” said Hsiao.
The sponsors for the academy included the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis and BeringLab, and several booths caught the eye of in-house counsel. Law firms Bae Kim & Lee, Kim & Chang, HFW, Milbank and O’Melveny & Myers participated in the event as well.
“IHCF remains committed to serving as a platform for in-house counsel to share practical insights and strategies in response to the rapidly evolving global legal landscape,” said Won-Young Jung, president of the IHCF. “With topics ranging from ESG and cybersecurity to negotiations, this spring academy was designed to provide actionable knowledge that participants can directly apply in their professional roles.”
