Solicitors go down big in Korea but not in Japan

Another pontoon was laid in the bridge between eastern and western legal communities in South Korea last week, but Japan is threatening to sink relations with foreign lawyers by issuing protective regulations.Visiting Korea, Law Society President David McIntosh cemented relations between solicitors and the Korean Bar Association, and urged the Korean Ministry of Justice to open up to international lawyers in this notoriously closed-shop jurisdiction, where they cannot practise.Mr McIntosh said first-class legal services were essential if Korea wanted to establish Seoul as a hub for financial services.Members of the Society's Korean task force - made up of a string of top City law firms - calculate that the Korean market would generate annual fees of 19 million.British ambassador Charles Humfrey said: 'A relationship with the Korean Bar Association has been established which should ensure that the debate will be constructive rather than confrontational.'Mr McIntosh added: 'The question is no longer "whether" the the market should be opened to foreign lawyers, but "how and when?".'In response to City firms' concerns over proposed new regulations affecting legal practice, Mr McIntosh extended his trip to Japan.This week, the Japanese Bar intends to implement a rule which blocks foreign firms from adopting a limited liability status by barring them from using their own names.City law firms fired off a joint letter of protest to Japan's Federation of Bar Associations in January, but no detailed reasons were given.At meetings with the Japanese officials, Mr McIntosh called for unrestricted freedom of association between foreign and local lawyers.

He said: 'The operations of international firms in Tokyo are being prevented from growing like bonsai trees.'A further letter was sent by Mr McIntosh to the federation this week, expressing concern over the rule, requesting additional debate, and asking for assurances that foreign firms will, in the future, be consulted on matters which may impact on them.Jeremy Fleming