South Korea

Founded in 2009 through the merger of Daeryook and AJU, D&A LLC has evolved into one of South Korea's leading law firms through continuous strengthening of its capabilities and expansion of service areas. The firm has more than 270 professionals including qualified attorneys in Korea and foreign jurisdictions, accountants, patent attorneys, and other qualified experts and advisers. 

In May 2022, the firm became the first major Korean law firm to establish a consulting firm, D&A Advisory, in Washington, DC. This allows the firm to develop tailored business models and provide customised services that align with the local US market. 

Highlights 

D&A excels particularly in the fields of corporate restructuring, insolvency and restructuring, finance, international arbitration, and election and regulation. D&A is actively expanding into the global legal market, particularly in foreign investment and overseas investment, solidifying its position as a global law firm. 

During the past research cycle, the firm has been active in handling transactions in relation to capital markets and M&A, including regularly advising on domestic listings, acquisition finance and financial investments. Active industry sectors include artificial intelligence, ESG, blockchain, fintech, legislation and government relations, gaming, sports and TMT. Notable deals consisted of participating in Diageo's Windsor Global whisky sale and providing guidance to IDO Accounting Firm on the sale of shares by the main shareholder of Changsung Softgel System. 

The firm has also been actively participating in a variety of transactions in the project space, including renewables, battery energy storage systems, small modular reactor nuclear technology, liquefied natural gas, mining, independent power production, and PPP involving rail, road, ports and airports. These projects span both established and developing markets. Highlighted deals include advising lenders on the sale of 16 photovoltaic power plant projects with the aggregated approved capacity of 14.61MW in Melilli, Sicily, Calabria, Tarquinia, Lazio, Trani and Molise in Italy. 

The firm has recently grown its team by adding partner Hui Dae Kim to its corporate M&A and banking and finance team. 

Key clients 

Ket clients include Woori Bank, Global Security Solutions, RIO Invest, Shinhan Venture Investment, Korea Southern Power, Lotte Insurance, Hyundai Asset Management, NH Investment & Securities, and KG Development.