Major law firms take legal services to corporate clients ... “Making things more convenient for clients”

[Financial News] Major law firms are increasingly competing to expand their engagement with corporate clients in the corporate legal services market. Their operational support systems are also changing, with firms expanding their fleets of company vehicles and introducing dispatch management systems to support lawyers traveling to client sites.
According to Financial News reporting on the 22nd, YK Law Firm has been operating about 30 company vehicles and a dispatch management system at its main office and 31 branch offices nationwide since this month. This follows an increase in lawyers’ travel needs, including visits to client companies and off-site meetings, as business-to-business (B2B) transactions and corporate legal work have expanded.
In particular, the firm has established a system that centrally manages vehicle demand and dispatch status, enabling lawyers handling work outside the office to use vehicles more efficiently. This gives the firm the support structure needed for lawyers to visit corporate clients in person, assess conditions at their workplaces and discuss legal issues.
YK had earlier established an emergency contact channel that operates 24 hours a day. When an emergency incident is reported, it assigns a lawyer dedicated to the relevant region within 30 minutes through its nationwide branch-office network and connects the lawyer with construction professionals.
In the law-firm sector, corporate legal work encompasses not only contract reviews and legal advice but also the full range of corporate management, including human resources and labor matters, management-control disputes and responses to regulation. In particular, lawyers must inspect a workplace in person to develop concrete response plans for legal issues involving its operations or internal work systems.
Major law firms such as Bae, Kim & Lee, Lee & Ko, Shin & Kim, Jipyong and Yoon & Yang also provide legal services to corporate clients in areas including corporate advisory work, responses to various regulations and dispute resolution. They also operate dispatch systems to facilitate travel for external work, including client visits, off-site meetings and court appearances.
In particular, Bae, Kim & Lee operates a shuttle between its Jongno headquarters, its Seocho branch office and the court, in addition to its dispatch system for visits to corporate clients. The shuttle is part of the firm’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy to reduce passenger-car use.
Lee & Ko also dispatches dozens of shared firm vehicles when lawyers who need one submit a request, and has provided the service to facilitate work since the firm’s early days. It also operates a shuttle between its main office and Seoul Central District Court.
A managing partner at a major law firm said, “If law firms strengthen the systems that support visits to clients’ business sites, they can expect to create more opportunities to communicate with clients, but they also need to consider the costs of acquiring, maintaining and managing vehicles.” The partner predicted, “Ultimately, in the corporate legal market, how nimbly firms respond to clients’ legal needs, alongside lawyers’ expertise, will be an important competitive factor.”
[email protected] Yu Seon-jun Reporter