JIPYONG LLC

On February 10, 2021, Mr. Sung Taek Lim, Managing Partner of JIPYONG LLC, appeared on In House Warrior, a podcast hosted by Richard Levick (Chairman and CEO of the crisis public relations firm LEVICK) to discuss social value management, sustainability, and Jipyong’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practice. Here are the highlights of Mr. Lim’s discussions with Levick.


1. What Social Value Management means for a law firm

Traditionally, social problems such as pollution and human rights abuse were considered to be the homework of the government or NGOs. This perception has been changing recently, and there have been increasing calls for the private business sector to step up to address these social problem more effectively and economically. While corporations were initially passive, focusing only on compliance, many of them began to take an active interest in corporate social responsibility. These companies have become more proactive in social problems by way of what is called Social Value Management (SVM). For example, there are companies in Korea that quantify social value in monetary terms and report such value as part of their financial statements.

Mr. Lim advocates that the same should be true for law firms, perhaps even more so. While law firms are, by nature, corporations that seek to maximize profits, law firms are also unique because they are made up of attorneys who have a professional obligation to pursue social justice. This is expressly stated in Article 1 of Korea’s Attorney-at-Law Act, which provides that a lawyer’s mission is “to defend fundamental human rights and achieve social justice”. As a collective of lawyers, law firms have to be more proactive than corporations in general in pursuing social values.


2. How Jipyong pursues social values as a law firm

Jipyong has been publishing an annual Sustainability Report since 2017. It is the first, and still the only, law firm in Korea to publish Sustainability Reports according to the GRI standards. In 2020, Jipyong also published an English version of the report for the first time to inform its global clients and readers of the true extent of its efforts in SVM.

Mr. Lim says pro bono activities and public interest work of individual lawyers are not enough. The entire firm – its organizational structure, modus operandi, and corporate culture – must change to pursue social values. To that end, Jipyong established the Social Value Committee to oversee these changes. Every aspect of Jipyong is undergoing these changes, including the method of work, recruitment, and procurement of office supplies. Jipyong also selects one area of social issue every year to focus on as a year-long project for the entire firm, and plans to hire up to 20 full-time public interest attorneys dedicated to this project.


3. Jipyong’s social issue projects

An example of such social issue projects was Jipyong’s “Inmate Children Project”. According to Mr. Lim, when parents are imprisoned, their children can face severe economic hardships and also can get cornered into the blind spots of the society. This leads to the very real risk of the children “inheriting” the crimes of their parents, and of the vicious cycle repeating. However, as of yet there is no law in Korea that cares for these children during the investigation, arrest and imprisonment of their parents. That is why all of Jipyong came together to solve this social issue as a part of our year-long project. Jipyong’s Criminal Defense Team and Administrative Law Practice advised the introduction of a legislative bill; its Legislation Team assisted with petitions to the Korean Parliament, and its Family Law Practice Team counseled on custody matters. Jipyong’s staff members also volunteered to provide care and mentorship to these children.

4. For-profit work and SVM

An interesting question is whether there is any for-profit work that is aligned with SVM. For instance, Jipyong's Construction Team is working to develop business in environment-friendly urban restoration projects, the Finance Team is trying to expand its portfolio advising social financing and impact investment, and its Corporate Team is increasing advisory work for social enterprises. On a company-wide level, Jipyong is reaching out to major Korean corporations to provide counsel on human rights management, carbon-free resource circulation, and the Green New Deal. Also, the work of Jipyong’s ESG Center, established last year, is directly related to SVM.

ESG is a critical aspect of sustainable management. It is a new paradigm that will not only change corporations but also the future of the Earth. In order to systematically support the ESG efforts of Jipyong’s clients, its Environmental Team, Human Rights Management Team, and Compliance Team came together to form the ESG Center in September 2020. Jipyong’s ESG Center consists of attorneys as well as top ESG consultants in Korea. The Center also works closely with environmental experts, PR and communication experts, social ventures and NGOs. Providing a one-stop solution for all of the clients’ ESG needs, Jipyong’s ESG Center help the clients to minimize their ESG risks, fulfill their social responsibilities, and achieve sustainable growth at a global level. Its ultimate goal is to lead the change in Korea so that there would be a wide-scale adoption of ESG management among Korean businesses.