[Interview] Chan-Woo Jeong, Managing Director, Daeryun Law Firm

“We have grown into one of the top 12 law firms in Korea, but we will go beyond the Korean market and become a global law firm.”

Leading Daeryun, which has grown into Korea's 12th largest law firm in just five years since its establishment.Chanwoo Jeong (41, 8th bar exam), general manager attorney's words.

Representative attorney Jeong is a rare law school graduate among the management representatives of major domestic law firms. He passed the bar exam in 2019 and rose to the position of head four years later. It is even more unusual in that he is a general management representative who is responsible for overall management beyond the representative attorney commonly used within a law firm.

Daeryun Law Firm was established in Jinju in March 2018. It was founded by CEO Jae-guk Shim (42, 2nd term), who was in charge of management before CEO Jeong. The following year, offices were opened in Busan and Seoul, and the company expanded rapidly and currently has 32 offices nationwide. As of the end of April, 137 Korean lawyers were affiliated. Based on the number of lawyers, it is the 12th largest in the country. As of June, there are 165 people. According to Daeryun, last year’s sales were close to 35 billion won. Representative Attorney Jeong has led the growth of Daeryun from the beginning of its establishment, keeping pace with CEO Sim.

Representative Attorney Jeong said, "In the beginning, CEO Shim and I traveled around the country to find offices and recruit. It took 4 to 5 years just to lay the foundation for the law firm. We focused on providing uniform services and prices."

He emphasized Daeryun’s unique system. Representative Attorney Jeong explained, "The systems that support our law firm are largely divided into two. They are the 'customer management system' and the 'case management system,'" adding, "We actively adopt online marketing to promote ourselves to customers and collaborate using messengers and work tools." He continued, "A strong system is important to manage offices across the country. Although we are a latecomer, we have actively reflected the changes of the times, such as digital systems, to lead the market."

We focused on reorganizing the system and maximizing the capabilities of our members. This is because I believe that the success or failure of a law firm depends on its members.

Representative lawyer Jeong said, "There is no seniority system at Daeryun. We do not give important positions just because of high rank. We promote members who understand Daeryun's system well and deliver good results and assign them to important positions such as director."

He continued, "We tried to improve the treatment of lawyers as much as possible. Daeryun's basic salary for a first-year new lawyer is 93.6 million won before tax, and when performance bonuses and allowances are added, it approaches 100 million won. Performance bonuses are paid according to Daeryun's own standards, and an overall flexible work system is implemented. The satisfaction level is quite high for lawyers who are raising children." Long-term service is also encouraged through positions divided into general, senior, responsible, chief, general manager, and chief general manager, and bonuses and sabbatical leave paid to those with 3 years of service.

Lastly, Representative Attorney Jeong emphasized ‘next level.’

He expressed his ambition, saying, "The theme of the workshop we recently held was Next Level. Now that we have achieved growth in terms of scale and sales, it is important to take a leap to the next level. We will solidify our specialized areas such as corporate legal affairs and strengthen Daeryun's brand image to achieve a new level of growth."

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