On July 19, Kwak Jeong-min (40, graduate of the 37^th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), an attorney at HMP Law and deputy director of legislation at the Korean Bar Association, expressed her ambition to be a lawyer who provides a valuable service to the community.

Despite her busy life as an attorney and member of the KBA, Ms. Kwak never skips her pro bono activities, which include legal consultation to a child protection organization sponsored by HMP Law, giving free legal aid (talent donation) to multicultural families in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, personal assistance in litigation involving refugees, public defending in juvenile protection cases, and so on.

Ms. Kwak stressed the importance of these pro bono activities, saying, “Lawyers who have received numerous benefits should give back some benefit to the community. In this way, pro bono activities are both a duty and a responsibility of lawyers.”

She continued, “Pro bono activities are an attraction and advantage that lawyers can enjoy… For me, such activities are the motivation to practice law for a long time.”

In addition to the aforementioned voluntary service activities, Ms. Kwak also focuses on her duties as deputy director of legislation by presenting legal opinions on behalf of the Korean Bar Association about the establishment and/or amendment of various Acts, etc., and giving answers to questions on the acceptance of cases, disciplinary action against lawyers, and matters under the Attorney-at-Law Act.

Ms. Kwak said, “During my stint as a training manager at the lawyers training institute since 2015, I have carried out projects related to the mandatory training course supervised by the Korean Bar Association. At that time, the head of the lawyers training institute was Kim Hyeon, who later became the president of the Korean Bar association. After his inauguration, Kim recommended me for my current role.”

“In the beginning, I was very surprised to find out that the Korean Bar Association has dealt with so many matters and then again surprised at the heavier than expected workload of the deputy director of legislation. Fortunately, thanks to assistance and encouragement from director of legislation Park Seong-ha and other team members, I have been able to and continue to perform my double duties as attorney and deputy director of legislation at the same time.”

As an attorney at HMP Law, Ms. Kwak mainly handles financial, corporate and criminal cases. Recently, her practice areas are being expanded to include legal consultation and litigation in connection with inheritances and donations, adult guardianship, cybercrime, personal data protection, and so on.

She explained, “HMP Law shows outstanding professionalism in the areas of international litigation and arbitration, and corporate and commercial cases. We have a number of multinational clients. Supported by HMP Law’s broad experience in such areas, I mainly work on financial and corporate matters.”

Her commitment to academic achievement also came up in the interview: “I feel rewarded teaching students. If given the opportunity, I want to give lectures while working as an attorney. Another dream is to carry out research useful to the legal profession.”