Korea
Our Korean Business Practice Team
Sheppard Mullin provides specialized legal counsel to Korean corporations and financial institutions. Our aim is to provide timely and practical legal advice to our Korean clients, helping them manage the risks and maximize the opportunities associated with the global operations of their businesses. We are particularly familiar with the legal and business issues that Korean corporations and financial institutions face when operating (or establishing their operations) in the United States.
We represent Korean corporations and financial institutions with matters in numerous jurisdictions in the U.S., as well as cross-border transactions, through a geographically diverse infrastructure of Sheppard Mullin offices and international networks. Our Korean Business Practice Team provides a range of legal services designed to serve the needs of the global operations of Korean corporations and financial institutions.
Members of Our Team
The members of our Korean Business Team have varied personal, educational, and business backgrounds and include lawyers who were raised and educated in the Republic of Korea. The group integrates the services of attorneys from all of our offices and across all practice groups of the firm, creating a team of experienced attorneys available to advise our Korean clients in all types of commercial and corporate matters, including:
- Antitrust & Trade Regulation
- Corporate
- Entertainment and Media
- ERISA
- Finance & Bankruptcy
- Government Contracts and Regulated Industries
- Intellectual Property
- International Business
- Labor & Employment
- Litigation
- Real Estate, Land Use and Natural Resources
- Tax
Our Korean Clients
We represent many Korean corporations and financial institutions, including:
- CJ America, Inc.
- Daewoo Securities (America) Inc.
- Daeyang America, Inc.
- Good Morning Shinhan Securities USA Inc.
- Green Cross Corporation
- Hana Bank
- Hana Financial Group
- Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd.
- Hankook Tire America Corp.
- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
- Hyundai Motor America, Inc.
- Kookmin Bank, New York Branch
- Kyobo Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
- Samsung Securities America, Inc.
- Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.
- Samyang Corporation
- Shinhan Bank, New York Branch
- The Korea Development Bank, New York Branch
- Woori Investment & Securities America, Inc.
About Sheppard Mullin
Sheppard Mullin is a full service law firm with offices throughout California and in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanghai. We pride ourselves on the quality of our legal work, our commitment to client service, our adherence to the highest ethical standards, and our cost-effective delivery of legal services. Our attorneys draw on a rich tradition of innovative problem-solving and respond rapidly to ever-changing business and legal challenges with creative, cost-effective and practical solutions.
Major Practice Areas
Corporate
One of Sheppard Mullin's core strengths is our corporate practice. Our corporate attorneys assist clients throughout the United States and abroad in maximizing their business opportunities. We represent clients that range from private to public companies and from startups and emerging businesses to international corporations.
We provide general business legal advice, assist in structuring and implementing major transactions, prepare agreements to address unique business arrangements and consult with clients to resolve major business and ownership issues. We handle such matters as initial and later stage venture financings; leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations; public offerings; mergers and acquisitions; SEC compliance; the registration, sale and termination of franchises; partnership formation and related transactions; and corporate partnering, joint venture and other strategic alliance arrangements. Because of our diverse client base, we have experience representing substantial entities in complicated multinational and multi-state transactions, as well as advising smaller and emerging clients on the full spectrum of business matters.
Litigation
Sheppard Mullin's litigation department involves virtually all aspects of business and commercial litigation, including antitrust and trade regulation, creditors' rights and financial institutions, environmental, franchise, intellectual property, products liability, professional liability defense, securities, and white collar criminal defense and regulatory compliance.
Our litigators represent clients in a broad spectrum of industries such as computers and information technology, financial services, aerospace, manufacturing, transportation, communications, pharmaceuticals, advertising, entertainment, print and broadcast media, petroleum production and refining, real estate, insurance, construction, and food/beverage manufacturing, among others.
The attorneys in our Litigation Department have substantial experience in a wide variety of vehicles for dispute resolution, including litigation, arbitration, and mediation.
Banking and Finance
Our banking and finance attorneys represent financial institutions (banks, commercial finance companies, insurance companies and leasing companies) in the documentation, negotiation and structuring of financial transactions. Our attorneys advise lenders, lessors, venture capital groups, investors and, at times, sellers, lessees and borrowers in a host of unsecured, personal property secured and real property secured transactions, including loans, leases, syndications/participations, chattel paper portfolio purchases and sales, consumer transactions and structured or financially engineered creditor facilities. We also represent financial institutions in matters such as licensing, the establishment of new branches and regulatory and form compliance procedures, as well as provide opinions for California law issues such as usury, form compliance for federal and state consumer transactions, UCC and securitization matters.
Entertainment and Media
Our Entertainment, Media and Communications lawyers have distinguished themselves with the ability to represent media companies on a global basis in multi-year television output licensing and joint venture agreements, including structuring satellite and cable platform deals for studios in Italy, Germany, France and Spain. By aiding in the creation of these programming opportunities, our lawyers are pivotal in offering studio clients both strategic and tactical guidance in international markets as well as in new emerging multimedia environments.
Our attorneys have also represented studios and production companies in licensing copyrighted film and television content and characters for distribution and merchandising opportunities in markets around the world. This work includes ensuring that proper measures are taken in U.S. and foreign jurisdictions to protect trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property assets. Our clients in this area have included major studios as well as producers and distributors of very successful and lucrative syndicated series and films.
International Business
We advise a host of international clients on their inbound and outbound transactions, corporate structures, tax, operating agreements, antitrust and competition issues, technology, communications, immigration and employment matters to ensure the optimal legal foundation for an enterprise with expanding borders. We represent a significant number of foreign clients including commercial entities, emerging companies, financial institutions and individuals based throughout the world. Our attorneys work with foreign lawyers, accountants and advisors to ensure that there is proper coordination among all professionals to ultimately attain the client's goals.
Immigration
Sheppard Mullin has significant expertise in employment based immigration law. Our advice spans the naturalization process through the relinquishment of citizenship. We advise on the application for various non-immigrant visas for employment of foreign nationals in the U.S.; applications for permanent resident status ("green cards"); labor certifications; and administrative matters before the Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. State Department and Department of Justice.
Our attorneys also advise on compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, verification procedures, INS or Department of Labor investigations, fine procedures and related litigation. We assist with temporary work visas and permanent residence matters, as well as advise on I-9 compliance and record keeping and government audits and hearings and appeals before the federal court, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals.
Labor and Employment
Labor and employment laws affect the entire legal relationship between employers and employees, beginning with the initial hiring process and expanding into every facet of daily operations, including job descriptions, wages, promotions, reviews, terminations, benefits, mergers and acquisitions, as well as the successful resolution of disputes pertaining to unfair labor practices and discrimination. Because the laws that apply to the labor and employment relationship are found at all levels of government—federal, state, county and even city—making sense of these oftentimes conflicting requirements is more of a challenge than ever for today's employers.
On many occasions, employers seek to "do the right thing" and yet don't realize they might be in violation of the law. Knowing what to do and when is a core competency of our Labor and Employment attorneys. With one of the largest and most prestigious Labor and Employment practices in the country, Sheppard Mullin advises employers of all sizes—ranging from Fortune 100 companies to high tech and traditional business start-ups—in all aspects of employment counseling and litigation. The strength and depth of our practice is rooted in our ability to provide truly full service labor and employment law counseling.
Many of our multinational clients view our Labor and Employment practice as an extension of their in-house legal department, while our emerging and middle market clients rely upon the true depth of our expertise and the outstanding service we are able to provide daily.
Antitrust
Our antitrust practice encompasses matters involving mergers and structural issues, criminal grand jury proceedings, international antitrust enforcement, pricing practices, product distribution, joint ventures, class actions based on federal statutes and state unfair competition laws, among many other areas. Our attorneys have also represented numerous firms and individuals in connection with consumer protection matters before the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general and private sector regulatory bodies. Our antitrust attorneys include former Antitrust Division lawyers, Federal Trade Commission lawyers, the 2002 California Antitrust Lawyer of the Year, and the 2003-2004 Chair of the Antitrust & Unfair Competition Section of the California State Bar.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property rights may be a business's most valuable asset in today's increasingly competitive and globalized marketplace. Patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, copyrights and trade dress must be carefully protected. Technology and intangible assets must be exploited to realize the typically untapped commercial value they represent.
Sheppard Mullin is a leader in the protection of intellectual property rights, as well as in assisting our clients exploit their commercial potential. We have expertise in all aspects of the laws governing patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, false advertising and other matters involving intellectual property and the optimal structuring of transactions and negotiations involving such property. We routinely address practical concerns related to the Internet, intranets, e-mail and document and data retention policies, as well as offer cutting edge advice in important related areas such as antitrust, unfair competition, counterfeiting, grey marketing and product diversion. Sheppard Mullin represents clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to start-up companies and individuals in all types of intellectual property matters, many of which involve complex technology and novel questions of technological advances and legal applications.
Real Estate
Sheppard Mullin has the third largest real estate law practice in California. It is also one of the most diverse. We represent commercial and residential developers, pension funds and pension fund advisors, insurance companies, commercial landlords, retail chain tenants, manufacturing companies, real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), institutional trustees and the "REO" departments of institutional lenders.
Our expertise includes real estate acquisition and disposition; commercial leasing and portfolio management; residential, hotel, commercial and industrial development; land use and entitlements; contracts with architects, engineers, consultants and contractors; and the structuring, formation and capitalization of partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations and trusts which acquire, develop and operate real property.
Environmental
Skilled and effective legal counsel is essential to managing the numerous risks associated with the continually changing and expanding environmental law requirements. Since the 1960s, Sheppard Mullin has provided environmental law related advice to a variety of clients in diverse industries. Our attorneys advise on environmental permitting issues, compliance, impact requirements, hazardous waste disposal requirements under federal and state law and liabilities under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and federal and state Superfund legislation.
We represent clients before administrative and judicial tribunals in all areas of environmental law, with a particular emphasis on soil and groundwater contamination and hazardous waste issues. We have also assisted clients on environmental matters in federal and state courts and before many federal, state and local agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California State Water Resources Control Board, California Coastal Commission, California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, California Air Resources Board, local air pollution control districts and regional air quality management districts, regional water quality control boards and other local agencies.
Our attorneys are frequently retained by clients who face administrative or judicial enforcement actions in connection with alleged contamination of industrial sites. We confer with the client and the engineering consultants retained to perform the remedial investigation and feasibility study designed to determine what cleanup, if any, is required. Our attorneys also negotiate with the agencies involved in efforts to avoid court action. If a settlement cannot be reached, litigation over the extent of the cleanup or the amount of penalties may follow.
Bankruptcy and Workouts
Bankruptcy issues pervade the business world. Lenders must deal with problem credits, manufacturers must deal with insolvent customers and suppliers and businesses of all types must structure their relationships to mitigate the consequences of a bankruptcy. Financial distress also provides acquisition opportunities for those in a position to capitalize on them.
Reflecting the reality of business, the bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys of Sheppard Mullin represent clients in all types of international, national and regional insolvency matters ranging in size and complexity from out of court loan workouts and financial restructurings to bankruptcy proceedings, creditors' rights and distressed acquisitions. Our clients span a wide ranging spectrum, including secured lenders, debtors, bank groups, creditors' committees, indenture trustees, equity holders, real property and equipment lessors, bankruptcy trustees and buyers.
Articles
- March 10, 2009