Asia Pacific Legal Market Summary December 2025

(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

Hong Kong’s legal recruitment market is thriving, with IPO work leading the surge. US, UK, and PRC firms are actively hiring lawyers for both US-side and HK-side IPO roles, offering opportunities across all levels. Finance, funds, and M&A practices remain busy, further fueling demand. Firms are open to relocation candidates, and some positions do not require Chinese language skills, widening the talent pool. This trend reflects Hong Kong’s strategic role in global capital markets and robust deal flow.

CHINA

Recruitment in Beijing and Shanghai remains steady but selective. Demand centres on mid-level lawyers with Mandarin fluency and international experience, particularly in capital markets, arbitration, and FCPA investigations. Firms are cautious, prioritising strategic hires over volume, yet increasingly open to relocating talent from Hong Kong or overseas. PRC firms are expanding regionally, driving competition and creating opportunities for globally trained candidates. Corporate, compliance, and disputes practices show resilience, while US firms consolidate their presence. Candidates with strong drafting skills and cross-border exposure are highly sought after, reflecting a market focused on quality, adaptability, and regional mobility.

SINGAPORE

Singapore’s legal hiring landscape is evolving with a strong tilt towards innovation and regional integration. Firms are prioritising lawyers who can navigate complex cross-border transactions, particularly in private equity, finance, technology, and energy. Transactional practices remain buoyant, while litigation and arbitration are gaining traction amid regional disputes. Talent mobility is increasing, with opportunities for foreign-qualified lawyers who bring sector expertise and adaptability. Commercial awareness and client-facing skills are increasingly valued, as firms seek professionals who deliver strategic value beyond technical capability.

SINGAPORE - Interim Legal

The new year brings fresh opportunities across Asia-Pacific’s legal landscape, particularly for alternative legal service providers. Organizations are increasingly turning to contract lawyers to manage cost pressures, cover regulatory projects, and support growing workloads. Interim and flexible hiring is on the rise, with hot demand for specialists in data privacy—driven by evolving compliance frameworks—and real estate law, fueled by regional development and investment activity. These trends reflect a shift toward agility and niche expertise, making this an ideal time for experienced professionals to explore short-term assignments.

SOUTH KOREA

It’s been another interesting year for the Korean legal market, with Korean firms busier than ever, due in part to significant changes to corporate governance regulations. International firms generally busy enough, but feeling the competitive pressure from a tight deal market and competition from cross-border teams at the top Korean firms. Hiring by international firms has been limited. The won strengthened somewhat over the summer, but the trend has been in reverse since the fall, and the US administration’s changing stances on tariffs and foreign investment have resulted in continued volatility. Some international firms have been strengthening their Korea desks in Singapore, drawing talent away from Seoul offices.

JAPAN

As with the past two years, associate hiring slowed as the year progressed, so if 2026 follows suit, Q1 is likely to be the busiest period for new openings. 2025 remained active for inbound private equity, keeping M&A and leveraged finance teams busy, while project finance lagged a bit. This year also saw the announcement of the closure of O’Melveny’s Tokyo office, after nearly forty years of business in Japan. The yen, which briefly strengthened in late spring, has since weakened back to the levels of the end of 2024—meaning the significant gap in effective compensation between firms that pay on the US scale and those that do not remains unchanged. Firms remain cautiously optimistic in the face of another year of global uncertainty, including the impact of the election of Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, this past October. Demand is strong for bilingual junior and mid-level corporate/M&A associates and bengoshi, as firms position themselves for anticipated momentum early next year.

AUSTRALIA

The demand for transactional and contentious lawyers over the last few months across major law firms in Sydney and Melbourne have continued to demonstrate the strength of the Australian legal market in 2025. Demand for Corporate/ M&A Senior Associate’s remains high with a vast array of top-tier and global law firms seeking to add top talent with private equity, private and public M&A experience. Demand for Banking & Finance lawyers also remains robust with several firms having an interest in lawyers with 2 – 8 years' experience in leveraged and acquisition finance as well as real estate finance. Demand for litigators has been strong all year with lawyers with class actions defense and finance services regulatory experience having several options across the market. We expect the strong demand across these practice areas (as well as others, such as real estate) to continue into Q1 of 2026.

Partner Moves

Partner moves are obtained from both public sources and Major, Lindsey & Africa market intelligence. The 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.