우리나라의 MDP 도입방안에 관한 연구

Abstract

Multi-disciplinary Practice(hereinafter MDP) refers to the practice of lawyers and nonlegal professionals engaging in a business partnership. The approval of MDP and its extent differs in each country, depending on factors such as the country’s legal system, lawyer system, and legal environment. Countries that disapprove MDP are the United States and Japan. Countries that approve MDP are England, Germany, and Australia. The need and call for an one-stop service from the market will likely increase more and more, consequently resulting in the global trend of MDP’s approval. At this point, Korea should immediately launch studies and discussions on MDP to come up with a ‘Korean MDP’ and systemize the practice. Not only would this be a means to provide the people a service that well suits the changing phases of time, but it would also be an opportunity to expand Korea’s legal market as well as increase the country’s legal competitiveness. If Korea adopts MDP, I suggest the followings. First, discussions in Korea on MDP should be mainly focused on business partnership between lawyers and paralegals. Second, MDP form should be allowed only to law firms. Third, non-lawyers can be partner of MDP. However, lawyer should have interests more than 50 % of the MDP. Fourth, articles for form change from the current law firm to MDP is needed. Fifth, Ministry of Justice should be the licensing authorities for MDP. Sixth, discipline of non-lawyer specialists of MDP may be done by other laws that control the non-lawyer specialists.