Kim & Chang

International Arbitration & Cross-Border Litigation; Construction & Engineering Disputes; Engineering & Construction; Energy; International Practice

Matthew Christensen is a senior foreign attorney in Kim & Chang’s International Arbitration & Cross-Border Litigation Practice.

Throughout his career, Mr. Christensen has acted for a broad range of private and public sector clients in dozens of substantial international arbitration cases under the rules of major arbitral institutions.

Prior to joining Kim & Chang, Mr. Christensen was a senior foreign attorney at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, where he was responsible for coordinating the firm’s international construction arbitration practice. Mr. Christensen has also worked in the New York office of a magic circle firm, where he specialized in project finance.

Mr. Christensen currently serves as Chair of the International Construction Projects Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association and is also a member of the SIAC Users’ Council. For his contributions to the practice of international arbitration in Korea, Mr. Christensen received a special commendation from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) in 2015.

Mr. Christensen has been recognized as one of the leading dispute resolution practitioners in Korea by Chambers Asia-Pacific and Legal 500, and is recommended by Who’s Who Legal in the areas of Arbitration, Construction and Mediation. According to Chambers Asia-Pacific, “Matthew Christensen is frequently sought out by clients to advise on construction and engineering disputes. Market commentators call him ‘a very capable writer and thoughtful advocate,’ praising his fluency in Korean, while clients report that he is ‘hard-working, responsive and easy to work with’” (Chambers and Partners, 2018). Who’s Who Legal has described Mr. Christensen as “a leading figure in the field who is described as ‘intelligent, hardworking and highly ethical’” (Who’s Who Legal - Arbitration, 2018), while Legal 500 has called him “a key figure for construction disputes […] who is praised for his ‘strong advocacy and effective cross-examination style.’” (Legal 500, 2018).

In addition to his work as arbitration counsel, Mr. Christensen frequently lectures and speaks on international arbitration and construction-related topics, including from time to time in Korean.

Mr. Christensen received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 2002. He also holds an A.M. degree in East Asian Regional Studies from Harvard University (1995) and an Honors B.A. in English Literature from the University of Utah (1992).

Mr. Christensen is admitted to the New York bar.

Mr. Christensen speaks Korean fluently and also has a basic working knowledge of Japanese.

English and Korean

Admitted to bar, New York, 2006

Harvard Law School (J.D., 2002) Harvard University (Pursued Ph.D.-level coursework, Korean Studies, 1995-2000) Harvard University (A.M., Regional Studies – East Asia, 1995) University of Utah (Honors B.A., English Literature, 1992)