Court Dismisses Law Firm Managing Partners' Appeal Over Disciplinary Action for 'Former Official Privilege' Ads

Managing partners of law firms who filed a lawsuit to overturn fines imposed for violating advertising regulations by promoting terms such as "former high-ranking official" and "privileged former official lawyer" have lost their case.

The Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 4-3 (Presiding Judges Moon Kwang-sub, Park Young-wook, and Lee Kwang-man) ruled against the plaintiffs, maintaining the lower court's decision in a lawsuit filed by the managing partner of Law Firm A and others against the Ministry of Justice's Attorney Disciplinary Committee to cancel the disciplinary decisions.

In 2024, Law Firm A received a corrective recommendation from the Korean Bar Association after running advertisements using terms such as "former official legal team" and "former official privileged lawyer," while also claiming that free legal consultations were available.

According to regulations on attorney advertising, lawyers are prohibited from running advertisements that cause people to mistakenly believe that their past service in institutions such as courts or prosecutors' offices allows them to exert undue influence on cases.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice's Attorney Disciplinary Committee issued disciplinary actions against the managing partners, and following adjustments, fined two managing partners 8 million won each.

The remaining managing partners also received disciplinary measures ranging from reprimands to fines of 1 million won.

In response, the managing partners filed an appeal lawsuit, claiming that "there is a separate partner in charge of advertising, and disciplinary actions were imposed on all managing partners without verifying whether they were actually involved in the advertising."

However, the first instance court rejected their claims, stating, "It is reasonable to view that managing partners hold the position of bearing legal responsibility for a law firm's advertisements under relevant statutes."

The appellate court also ruled that even if a separate partner in charge of advertising was designated, it does not exempt managing partners from responsibility regarding advertisements.

The court pointed out, "A law firm's advertisements are closely related to its business and operations, and their effects and profits belong to its members," adding, "The plaintiffs have the right and duty to execute advertisements, as well as the authority and responsibility to monitor and supervise them."

The court further explained, "If only the partner in charge of advertising were to bear responsibility for a law firm's unlawful advertisements, it would run counter to the legislative intent of the relevant laws," and "this would result in managing partners exercising influence and enjoying profits from advertisements while evading legal responsibility."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.