(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

This month, Hong Kong reports another record-breaking surge of COVID-19 infections, and the government has imposed its toughest social-distancing rules yet. Many law firms have either returned to working from home or continued with a flexible working arrangement.

The recruitment market has continued to remain active, but the processes have slightly slowed down due to the Lunar New Year holidays. Law firms are interested in speaking with lawyers within the M&A, capital markets, funds and disputes space. Many of the job openings are falling within the mid-level to senior-level range, although we do have a handful of junior-level openings within the FCPA and finance sectors.

CHINA

With Chinese New Year holidays in the mix, activity has slowed. Having said that, law firms are prepared to hire and a few firms have multiple openings in several practice areas. FCPA and M&A are in demand for high-quality candidates and lawyers with overseas experience remain highly desirable. If relocation is involved, citizenship status will be a critical decision factor due to the travel restrictions under COVID-19.

SINGAPORE

As predicted, business activity in Singapore is beginning to swing back into life after a relatively slow start to the year. With an easing of global travel restrictions and a more balanced approach to dealing with COVID-19 locally, we are also seeing some business travel recommence, now globally rather than regionally. Things are certainly stirring back into life again!

There have been significant partner movements in Singapore, creating opportunities in all practice areas for great associates. McDermott’s recent moves in projects and disputes and the arrival of a couple of new entrants means new opportunities for associates with new firms and excellent opportunities with established players.

Our international law firm clients are once again open to hiring the best talent from around the globe, and to that end, we would like to hear from associates with strong academic and law firm backgrounds who are either already in Singapore or keen to think about a move to Asia. We would be happy to tell you more about the nuances of the Asian markets and how things work in Singapore.

SINGAPORE - Interim Legal

The interim market continues to be busy. We are now in mid-February, and we are witnessing trends of employees returning to the office between 2–3 days a week. The fintech, logistics, e-commerce and banking industries remain active and popular.

SOUTH KOREA

Despite soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases due to Omicron, law firms are continuing to operate mostly business as usual in Korea and are feeling positive about deal flow in 2022. Firms have been having more difficulty in filling roles for foreign-qualified lawyers perhaps due to the uncertainties of COVID-19 making job changes less attractive. There are currently several mid-level corporate hiring opportunities at major international and Korean law firms for highly qualified bilingual foreign-qualified associates.

JAPAN

Japan’s borders continue to remain closed as the Omicron wave continues unabated, but there is some hope that entry restrictions will begin easing from this month, both for business travel and long-term work relocations. Work from home and hybrid work arrangements continue to be the norm at most law firms and legal departments. The market remains busy, with lots of opportunities for bengoshi at all levels and for foreign-qualified associates with Japanese language skills and stellar credentials. Firms are understanding about relocation issues in light of the visa freeze and may be flexible about remote starts for foreign lawyers interested in moving to Japan once regulations allow.

AUSTRALIA

With the summer break now truly behind us, the Australian legal market is back in full swing and is showing continued signs of strong demand by firms for experienced lawyers across almost all practice areas.

Corporate/M&A remains the practice area of lateral recruitment focus, especially for firms in Sydney and Melbourne. Most firms are interested in meeting with senior associate or associate-level lawyers with experience in capital markets, M&A and private equity. As mentioned in our January newsletter, there is also high demand for banking & finance, financial services, and dispute lawyers with 2–7 years post-qualification experience across the market.

Partner Moves