"They have a very high quality of legal services," notes one financial client of Shin & Kim. "Their lawyers are knowledgeable about legal and regulatory issues and understand our business needs....
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"They have a very high quality of legal services," notes one financial client of Shin & Kim. "Their lawyers are knowledgeable about legal and regulatory issues and understand our business needs. We can trust them to come up with creative, yet practical solutions to difficult legal issues we face."
Although not one of the biggest firms in the market, Shin & Kim can be proud of its leading status across the financial and corporate spectrum. This year the firm faced some tough questions from the market regarding its shifting headcount, and some observers commenting on the lack of activity from its banking and finance team.
Despite these remarks, the firm's reputation is borne out by the sophistication of the transactions it's instructed on and the leading reputations of its practitioners. Acknowledged by peers and clients as a forerunner in the capital markets and restructuring and insolvency spaces, the firm has had a fine year keeping active on many of the markets most significant transactions.
"Historically they are one of the most active capital markets firms with strong underwriter relationships," notes an in-house client. "They are especially skilled in securitisation matters." As this client remarks, Shin & Kim is the undisputed colossus of securitisation transactions. This year the team acted on all asset-backed securities (ABS) securitisation deals to come out of Korea for clients like Samsung Card, Lotte Card, Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. "I recommend partner Young Hee Jo," says a client of the capital markets partner. "She and her team provide solid, prompt service and they have a good understanding of ABS legal issues."
"They are picking up the pace this year since [Young Ku] Lee joined," comments a rival of the newly-joined restructuring and insolvency group partner. "He is a brilliant judge. I have a lot of respect for him." In the past year the firm acted on or began work on no less than eight prominent restructuring matters. For example, the high-profile Ssangyong Motors rehabilitation stars Lee and his team for the beleaguered automobile company. Another notable instruction came from ANZ Bank as creditor in the rehabilitation of GKI Development, a Lehman Brothers Holdings subsidiary.
Woong-Soon Song is a familiar name in the M&A market and the leading lawyer headed teams in several notable recent deals. In one, Song led a team that advised Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA) in the $835 million acquisition by MSPEA and Shinhan Private Equity of the 100% issued shares of Norske Skog Korea. Another highlight had Kookmin Bank seeking Shin & Kim's counsel in relation to the sale of its 14.9% shares of ING Life Insurance Company Korea to ING Insurance International for $273 million.
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