ARTICLE
Happy Chinese New Year! Outbound business remains to be the focus for many international and domestic law firms in 2017, and we see more firms starting to play a material role in outbound transactions. Firms are watching out for how the US presidential election and the changes in China’s foreign exchange policy will impact the market. We have heard from partners that they still foresee large growth potential in the outbound sector in the long-term, and lawyers with a combination of international practice experience and local knowledge will be in high demand.
Happy New Year! 2017 started off busy with a number of new searches launching in the first week. Openings are mainly within transactional practices; however, there are a few disputes openings for associates at the senior level. Most of these openings are replacement roles. A few law firms (especially UK law firms) are having internal discussions in the next couple of weeks regarding 2017 headcount. We foresee more roles will be released to the market after Chinese New Year.
The Singapore market is off to a strong start this year with several opportunities in finance at international firms and a good indication from clients that it is going to be a busy year with good growth. A turbulent 2016 saw firms cautious with their hiring plans, but we are hearing from clients that they are currently assessing their hiring needs for the year ahead and see opportunities for growth in corporate, arbitration and specialist areas.
January is always a quiet month for the Australian market, with office closures over Christmas and the New Year, and with Australia Day towards the end of the month, movement tends to slow to snail’s pace until the start of February. January is a good month for those associates in the market to evaluate their position and make enquiries about other potential opportunities available to them—domestically or internationally. Especially for mid-level corporate and banking lawyers, the market is very much open to those who seek a change.
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RECENT PARTNER MOVES IN ASIA PACIFIC
Partners |
Practice |
To |
From |
Location |
Andrew Payne |
Restructuring and Special Situations |
DLA Piper |
Clearwater Capital Partners |
Hong Kong |
Stephen Chan |
Capital Markets |
Dechert |
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft |
Hong Kong |
Yue Han |
Corporate M&A |
King & Wood Mallesons |
JunHe Law Offices |
Beijing |
Wei (David) Li |
Corporate M&A |
Han Kun Law Offices |
Global Law Office |
Beijing |
Xiaoming Li |
Corporate M&A |
Han Kun Law Offices |
White & Case |
Beijing |
Xiaoyang Li |
Corporate M&A |
King & Wood Mallesons |
JunHe Law Offices |
Beijing |
Yurong Ye |
Corporate M&A |
Miao & Co. |
King & Wood Mallesons |
Beijing |
Rocky Lee |
Private Equity and Venture Capital |
King & Wood Mallesons |
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft |
Beijing, Silicon Valley |
Yang Liu |
Corporate and M&A |
Clyde & Co Westlink, Chongqing |
HaoLiWen Partners, Shanghai |
Chongqin, Shanghai |
Amigo Xie |
Corporate |
K&L Gates |
Llinks Law Offices |
Shanghai |
Jianwei (Jerry) Fang |
Disputes |
Zhong Lun Law Firm |
Global Law Office |
Shanghai |
Simon Poh |
Corporate |
K&L Gates |
Linklaters |
Shanghai |
Wayne Lee |
Corporate |
Allen & Overy |
Shearman & Sterling |
Shanghai |
Feixiang Yang |
Restructuring |
Zhong Lun Law Firm |
Jun Yue |
Shanghai |
Brian Law |
Intellectual Property |
Harry Elias Partnership |
Wong & Partners |
Shanghai |
Chou Ching |
Corporate Real Estate |
Rajah & Tann |
Dentons Rodyk |
Shanghai |
Cindy Quek |
Corporate Real Estate |
Rajah & Tann |
Dentons Rodyk |
Shanghai |
Edmund Leow |
Tax |
Dentons Rodyk |
Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore |
Shanghai |
Farhana Siddiqui |
Finance |
Withers KhattarWong |
Drew & Napier |
Shanghai |
Gazalle Mok |
Corporate Real Estate |
Rajah & Tann |
Dentons Rodyk |
Shanghai |
John Dick |
Energy |
Dentons Rodyk & Davidson |
DA Partners |
Shanghai |
Keith McGuire |
M&A and Joint Venture |
PwC Legal |
Ashurst |
Shanghai |
Natalie Breen |
Cross-border Real Estate |
PwC Legal |
Norton Rose Fulbright |
Shanghai |
Nathan Bush |
Investigations and Antitrust |
DLA Piper |
O’Melveny & Myers |
Shanghai |
Norman Ho |
Corporate Real Estate |
Rajah & Tann |
Dentons Rodyk |
Shanghai |
Shijie Tan |
Corporate Real Estate |
Rajah & Tann |
Dentons Rodyk |
Shanghai |
Jeffrey Maddox |
Capital Market |
Jones Day, Singapore |
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Hong Kong |
Singapore, Hong Kong |
Nicholas Lum |
Shipping and International Trade |
Ince & Co |
Oon & Bazul |
Singapore, Shanghai |
Gyo Toda |
Securities |
TMI Associates |
Nishimura & Asahi |
Tokyo |
Masakazu Iwakura |
Corporate M&A |
TMI Associates |
Nishimura & Asahi |
Tokyo |
John Mann |
Corporate |
K&L Gates |
Clarendon Lawyers |
Melbourne |
These listed partner moves are obtained from both public sources and Major, Lindsey & Africa. This list is not intended to represent Major, Lindsey & Africa as the consultancy involved in the moves, although some moves may have been brokered by Major, Lindsey & Africa.