[Edaily Marketin Song Seung-Hyeon Reporter] “Foreign lawyers are the key to competitiveness.”

As the center of gravity in the domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market shifts beyond national borders, the talent recruitment strategies of major law firms are undergoing a complete transformation. With more than 85% of last year’s corporate merger and acquisition (M&A) value coming from deals involving foreign companies, foreign lawyers with experience in global private equity funds (PEFs) and cross-border deals have emerged as the “top recruitment targets,” surpassing domestic M&A experts. As cases have emerged where the recruitment of foreign lawyers has directly led to increased M&A revenue, the battle for talent among law firms is heating up even further.

The Balance of M&A Shifts Abroad… The Race to Recruit Foreign Lawyers

According to investment banking (IB) and legal circles on the 2nd, Kwangjang Law Firm is currently conducting an open recruitment drive for foreign attorneys with 4 to 10 years of experience in the M&A field.

Previously, Sejong Law Firm recruited foreign attorney Kim Kyung-seok in April, who has over 20 years of experience in cross-border M&A and private equity. Mr. Kim has a track record of advising on a wide range of transactions led by major private equity firms such as KKR, Carlyle, and Affinity Equity Partners, having worked at global law firms including Rinclair, White & Case, and Arnold & Porter. Sejong had been making a concerted effort to recruit Mr. Kim for a long time, having consistently attempted to bring him on board even when he was at Pacific Law Firm.

Pacific, another major law firm, also made a surprise move by recruiting foreign attorney Kang Hyung-seok from its rival firm, Kwangjang. Having worked at the New York office of Paul Hastings, among other firms, Attorney Kang is recognized for his expertise in cross-border deals, such as Netflix’s acquisition of a stake in Studio Dragon and LVMH’s acquisition of a stake in Gentle Monster.

The reason major law firms are staking their survival on recruiting foreign attorneys is that borders have become irrelevant in M&A deals.

According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s “2025 Trends in Merger Review,” the value of domestic mergers and acquisitions last year reached 358.3 trillion won, a 29.7% increase from the previous year. Of this total, transactions involving foreign companies amounted to 305.9 trillion won, accounting for 85.4%. Transactions involving foreign companies surged by 38.4% year-over-year.

In contrast, the value of mergers between domestic companies fell by 8.4% year-over-year to 49.7 trillion won. This reflects a trend where domestic mid- to large-scale deals are disappearing, with large cross-border deals taking their place. The top spots in terms of deal value were also dominated by mega-deals between foreign companies, such as Synopsys’ acquisition of Ansys (50 trillion won) and Mars’ acquisition of Kellanova (49 trillion won).

Among acquisitions—those by foreign companies of domestic firms (inbound) and by domestic firms of foreign firms (outbound)—the outbound segment is showing particularly steep growth. Last year, the number of deals in which domestic firms acquired foreign companies rose from 13 to 20, a 53.8% increase, while the total value surged by 188.9%, from 9000억 won to 2조 6000억 won. Notable examples include POSCO’s acquisition of Indonesia’s Shinheung Metal, HS Hyosung Advanced Materials’ acquisition of Belgium’s Extramile, and Dong-A ST’s acquisition of Japan’s ITO. In effect, the very nature of the work for which domestic companies seek legal counsel is shifting beyond national borders.

As the market has changed, so too have the standards for the capabilities law firms must possess. Whereas the ability to handle domestic transactions quickly and accurately was once a key competitive advantage, the priority has now shifted to experience in structuring deals that span different legal systems and regulations, as well as the ability to negotiate directly with global private equity (PE) firms. Such capabilities are difficult to develop domestically. This is why law firms are focusing on recruiting professionals with experience handling cross-border transactions at overseas law firms or global private equity (PE) firms.

“Recruitment Leads to Revenue”… Effects Confirmed by the Numbers

The fact that aggressive recruitment of foreign attorneys has led to increased revenue is cited as one of the reasons behind the intensifying recruitment competition this year. Pacific Law Firm, which ranked second in revenue among major domestic law firms last year, reportedly saw its M&A revenue rise by about 15% year-over-year. This is largely attributed to the firm’s recruitment of a total of nine foreign attorneys from last year through this year, which enabled it to distinguish itself in cross-border deals.

Sejong, which has also been aggressively recruiting talent since last year, has shown marked growth in the M&A advisory sector and has risen to third place in the industry. Hwawoo also recorded revenue of 3000억 won for the first time last year, largely driven by an 80% year-over-year increase in its M&A division, which has expanded significantly since the appointment of CEO Yoon Hee-woong. The firm has clearly reaped the benefits of recruiting a total of nine M&A lawyers from outside the firm, including foreign attorney Ryu Myung-hyun, who is classified as a top-tier expert in cross-border deals.

The competition for talent is not limited to foreign attorneys. The battle for domestic M&A attorneys—those with deep expertise in specific industries or experience in transactions with global private equity funds—is also intensifying. In fact, Sejong has recruited attorneys Kim Bang-hyun (35th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute) and Lee Ji-hoon (4th Bar Exam), who were considered key members of Pacific’s M&A team.

An official at a major law firm stated, “Law firms are no longer recruiting individual attorneys, but rather the global private equity fund networks and cross-border transaction experience they bring with them.” The official added, “As the market has shifted from competing on the number of deals to competing on the weight of those deals, the law firm that secures cross-border expertise the fastest will determine the rankings.”