(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

The Hong Kong market has seen a notable increase in recruitment activity, spanning junior to senior positions. Key sectors such as funds, corporate and finance are particularly busy. Candidates with Asian language skills are in high demand, enhancing regional communication and client engagement. Law firms are also open to relocating oversea lawyers to meet the growing need. Overall, the recruitment landscape in Hong Kong is vibrant.

Mainland CHINA

The markets in Beijing and Shanghai remain steady, with ongoing consolidation by US law firms. There is notable interest from firms in the FCPA and corporate sectors, which are seeking candidates. Additionally, there is a strong preference for PRC nationals with overseas experience to return, as their international exposure and expertise are highly valued.

SINGAPORE

The legal market has been steadily active, presenting new opportunities in various practice areas. We currently have openings in the teams of general finance, projects, funds, and M&A, offering promising prospects for lawyers with 1 to 5 years of PQE. These roles have become available due to both team growth and replacement needs. While Singapore-qualified candidates are preferred, partners are also open to considering lawyers from the London, Australia, and Hong Kong markets. This is a great chance for lawyers looking to further their careers in a supportive and dynamic environment with strong regional exposure.

SINGAPORE (Interim)

The Singapore interim market is seeing a compliance and regulatory demand, asking for an incredibly wide range of skillsets. Likely reflecting regulatory momentum behind tariff / sanction movements from the US as well as ESG initiatives such as the Singapore Green Plan 2030. Meanwhile, LegalTech integration initiatives call for interim counsel with AI and Cybersecurity capabilities.

JAPAN

While it wouldn’t quite be accurate to describe the Tokyo market as booming, there are more roles currently open than there have been in the past few years, generally across M&A, project finance and capital markets. So, the mood is optimistic, and a number of firms are hiring. While demand for corporate bengoshi associates is evergreen, there are now a number of roles for bengoshi with experience in areas including energy, finance, litigation and employment. For foreign lawyers, most of the roles are in M&A, with a few in areas such as project finance, asset finance and technology transactions—and several do not require Japanese fluency. Despite the increase in openings, firms remain highly selective and are looking for associates from other top international firms.

South Korea

The Korean legal market remains stable, though international firms are largely holding steady rather than expanding. We visited a number of our international firm clients in Seoul earlier this year, and the common refrain was that market competition, political instability, the weak won and economic uncertainty—both in Korea and the US—are straining deal flow. The market was shaken in February when SJ Han, a 30-year veteran of Cleary Gottlieb, moved his team to Kim & Chang. This move is seen as emblematic of the pressures international firms are facing in Korea, particularly given ever-increasing hourly rates, contrasted with the market dominance of the top Korean firms.

AUSTRALIA

Recruitment activity across the major law firms in Australia’s two largest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, has remained steady as we head into the end of the Australian Financial Year.

Demand for Corporate/ M&A lawyers remains buoyant with several top-tier and global law firms seeking talent at the Associate and Senior Associate levels, especially in Sydney. We have also noticed a spike in demand for banking & finance lawyers, especially as local firms look to replace lawyers leaving Australia for London or New York based opportunities.

Other practice areas such as Real Estate, Infrastructure, Funds and Commercial Litigation are also busy with firms having demand at different levels across different offices.

The appetite for sponsoring commonwealth qualified lawyers from abroad is low, but opportunities exist for top-tier UK qualified lawyers with 3-5 years transactional and large firm experience.

Partner Moves