(As excerpted from our monthly Associate Newsletter - Asia Pacific)

Associate Newsletter – Asia Pacific is a monthly resource that reports current legal market news, trends, partner moves and active opportunities in the Asia Pacific legal markets.

Legal Market Summary

HONG KONG

Recruitment remains active in Hong Kong with most law firms recruiting associates at the mid- to senior-levels. The opportunities are mostly in the corporate, litigation and funds practices.

Many junior lawyers reached out to us this month for openings after learning that their firms will be unable to retain them upon completion of their training contracts. Law firms are presently flooded with resumes with different training backgrounds from newly qualified/to be qualified candidates; those reflecting training at an international law firm and a strong academic record will hold the stronger advantage.

Continuing a recent trend, law firms remain particularly inclined to hire lawyers with overseas experience. Lawyers possessing strong Chinese language skills and a couple of years of practice experience in the U.S. or the U.K. will gain good traction in the current Hong Kong associate market. It is helpful that COVID-19 has not restricted firms from hiring/relocating lawyers to Hong Kong. In fact, law firms continue to offer flexibility on start dates and are amenable to remote work during an interim period before the lawyer can physically move to Hong Kong.

CHINA

Law firms are cautiously hiring in the Beijing and Shanghai markets. Busier practices include FCPA, HKIPO and M&A. Most of the hiring is at mid- to senior-levels.

A steady stream of PRC nationals is looking to return to Beijing and Shanghai with law firms eagerly welcoming these candidates. Lawyers who have strong business contacts in China coupled with overseas experiences are particularly attractive to law firms.

SINGAPORE

Singapore business activity continues its steady increase as reflected in an increasingly busier business district and more heavily trafficked roads. With 75% of people allowed back into the office, law firms are shifting plans to try to get their people back in.

Law firms are busier, and recruitment remains steady. Following a few recent partners moves, we have several new associate openings at the 1-6 years’ PQE level. M&A, finance and US capital markets are active.

SINGAPORE - Interim Legal

There seems to be an uptick in the fintech, technology and funds management industries in Singapore and a real demand for mid-level legal talent. Associates from law firms are keen to explore the options of going in-house and using interim contracting positions as a steppingstone to do so.

It has been over a year since the beginning of the pandemic and it is fantastic to see more companies paying attention to the topic of Employee Wellness. For example, LinkedIn recently shut down its offices for a week which they called their “LinkedIn Rest-Up” week, which was a one-time wellness break offered to all LinkedIn employees. This event, in their words, “reflects the strength of our business & our investment in talent as our number one operating priority”. In step with that spirit, more candidates in Singapore are increasingly keen to find work that offers meaningful work/life balance.

SOUTH KOREA

Law firms are operating mostly business as usual in Korea as the government starts to roll out the vaccine. There are currently hiring opportunities at major international and Korean law firms for highly qualified bilingual corporate and litigation associates as well as open in-house positions. Not surprisingly, life sciences companies have been actively hiring.

JAPAN

With COVID-19 cases rising again in Japan, many lawyers are still working principally from home. Nonetheless, many firms are getting busier and there are quite a few associate-level recruiting efforts underway for corporate associates. Strong language skills and credentials are a must for most (but not all) roles. The in-house sector also continues to be active with lots of great roles open for lawyers with five-plus years of experience.

AUSTRALIA

Australia’s continued containment of the COVID-19 virus and early-stage vaccine rollout continues to push the economy forward with the legal recruitment market mirroring these positive developments in the form of active practices. The recent opening of a travel bubble with New Zealand is also driving markets in the right direction.

Top-tier, global and mid-market law firms, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, continue to report multiple job needs for senior associate and associate-level lawyers across a broad range of practice areas. Specifically, we are seeing needs for lawyers with 3–8 years’ PQE in corporate/M&A, banking and finance, financial services and regulatory, infrastructure and construction, litigation, and real estate.

With Australia’s border remaining closed, law firms remain unable to consider foreign nationals who require visa sponsorship.

Partner Moves