South Korean law firm Yoon & Yang has restructured its Vietnam strategy by securing a co-location arrangement with local peer VILAF in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
The firm previously operated in Vietnam through a dual-office structure, with branches in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi opened in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Under the new arrangement, its personnel now operate from VILAF’s offices rather than its own branches.
“Following the recent establishment of a strategic collaboration with VILAF, all of Yoon & Yang’s personnel in Vietnam have now relocated to work directly at VILAF’s offices,” Myung Soo Lee, senior managing partner at Yoon & Yang, told Asia Business Law Journal.
Lee said that Korean law firms in Vietnam were facing significant regulatory hurdles, including a prohibition on directly representing clients in local litigation.
He added that the firms had also encountered practical limitations in handling administrative licensing and government-related matters within Vietnam’s regulatory environment.
“Yoon & Yang has now begun leveraging the expertise and extensive network of VILAF attorneys to serve its Korean clientele and the firm can now provide litigation representation by working in tandem with VILAF’s local legal team,” Lee said.
