[Edaily Marketin Song Seung-Hyeon Reporter Kim Seong-soo] “If an external advisory firm simply lists risks and leaves, the company is unable to make a decision and ends up agonizing over it all night. An advisory firm that provides both priorities and solutions is the one we truly need.”

Yoon So-yeon (1st Bar Exam), an attorney at Hwawoo Law Firm, outlined these principles of M&A advisory in an interview with E-Daily. Attorney Yoon provided M&A advisory services at Yulchon, served as Naver’s Director of Legal Affairs for two years, and then returned to Yulchon before moving to Hwawoo. Attorney Kim Young-ju (35th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), who also participated in the interview, began her career at Sejong, moved to KL Partners, founded the boutique law firm LAB Partners, and joined Hwawoo last year. Both are key partners aggressively recruited by Hwawoo’s M&A team following the appointment of CEO Yoon Hee-woong last year.

A Role Leading Practical Work Between Seniors and Juniors

Both emphasized that they lead the practical work from start to finish. They described their roles as bridging the gap between senior attorneys, who interact directly with clients, and junior attorneys, who handle due diligence and documentation—managing every aspect of a deal from A to Z.

Attorney Yoon said, “Unlike general advisory firms, law firms have a distinct organizational structure that runs from senior to junior attorneys,” adding, “Having provided M&A advisory services for over 10 years, I’ve always thought of myself as occupying a position somewhere in between.” He emphasized, “As a mid-level partner, my current role is to serve as a bridge between senior and junior attorneys while simultaneously integrating the firm’s expertise across various fields—such as regulatory, fair trade, and finance—into a single solution that connects the client and the firm,” adding, “In M&A in particular, it is crucial for a single deal partner to maintain a view of the big picture.”

Attorney Kim shared a similar perspective. “While managing due diligence and contracts, I must strike a balance to ensure the overall direction doesn’t veer off course,” he said. “I strive to achieve the best possible results by reflecting both the requirements of clients—such as private equity (PE) firms—and recent trends in commercial law amendments.” He went on to praise the firm, saying, “Having worked at several law firms before joining Hwawoo, I can confidently say that the skills of our junior attorneys here are the best in the industry.”

“Clients want someone who will be with them from the beginning to the end of a deal.”·

The two shared a similar perspective on clients: they need someone who can reliably deliver the desired results.

Attorney Yoon, who has extensive experience advising strategic investors (SIs), cited his time working in-house at Naver, noting, “When I was in-house, the advisory firms that were most helpful were those that provided both priorities and solutions—telling me, ‘You can take this level of risk,’ or ‘You absolutely must address this.’ Now that I’m back as an external advisor, I try not to lose that sense of judgment,” he added.

Attorney Kim, an expert in financial investors (FI), addressed this point from a slightly different angle. He emphasized, “Since issues continue to arise even after a company acquisition, there is a strong tendency to entrust matters to a trusted partner rather than seek one-off advice,” adding, “Ultimately, the key is whether they can see the deal through from start to finish.”

Their Respective Strengths: In-House Experience and Founding a Boutique Firm

The assets the two have accumulated throughout their careers are of different natures. Attorney Yoon has served as an in-house counsel, sitting on the client side, while Attorney Kim has personally founded and operated a boutique law firm.

Yoon described her time as Naver’s Director of Legal Affairs as “a period when I saw firsthand, from the other side, just how valuable external advisors are.” She explained, “Within a company, when discussing a single issue, the business, finance, legal, and PR teams hold meetings using different languages,” adding, “If an external advisor provides an answer using only legal terminology, the information ultimately needs to be ‘translated’ back into the company’s internal language.”

He continued, “Although I am now an external advisor, I believe my unique strength lies in providing answers while fully understanding the diverse internal languages of my clients.” Representative examples of platform and digital asset deals he has advised on include the Naver-Dunamu stock swap, the sale of Kakao AXZ, and the sale of NXC’s Kobit.

Reflecting on his time at LAB Partners, Attorney Kim recalled, “We were in a situation where we had to compete with large law firms on many M&A deals.” He said, “To avoid being excluded from deals simply because of our small size, we had to rely solely on our expertise,” adding, “The sense of urgency and the ability to stay closely attuned to clients that I learned back then remain with me to this day.” Explaining his decision to join Hwawoo, he stated, “I saw Hwawoo as the law firm with the greatest growth potential in the M&A field,” adding, “Managing Partner Yoon Hee-woong had been watching my career for a long time, and a major factor in my decision was the desire to help build a team under a leader I could trust.”

“The lawyer clients turn to first when they’re in trouble”

When asked about the criteria for being a “power attorney,” Attorney Yoon replied, “I believe the essence lies in whether clients return to you repeatedly and whether you’re the first person they call when a new issue arises.” He added, “To become that kind of attorney, I’m currently focusing most on continuously deepening my understanding of clients—so I don’t remain stuck in the perspective of an external advisor—and on providing the most appropriate solutions from the client’s point of view.”

Attorney Kim remarked, “Ultimately, a ‘power attorney’ is the lawyer clients think of first when they find themselves in a truly difficult situation,” adding, “Whether it’s a large deal or a small one, the real criterion is whether the client trusts you and continues to seek you out.”