(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 has been a calm month for Hong Kong legal recruiting. Some firms are interested in viewing resumes but have been explicitly shared that the headcounts will only be approved late this year or early next year. Partners are open to having conversations with strong candidates, especially in banking, litigation and capital markets space.

Mainland CHINA

It has been a cautious market in Beijing and Shanghai. Some firms are selectively looking at strong senior FCPA investigation lawyers. They are particularly keen on Chinese nationals with overseas experience and who are looking to return to mainland China.

SINGAPORE

The big news in the time since we last wrote is the imminent arrival of disputes powerhouse Quinn Emanuel to Singapore’s shores, together with Greenberg Traurig’s license having been approved. This has caused a lot of buzz on our island as we move into the final quarter of a busy year. While global markets are challenged, Singapore remains robust and strategic hiring at senior levels remains active. Associate hiring is more cautious in all areas, with our clients being encouraged to maximize utility before approvals are granted for extra headcount. Activity within the energy and infrastructure sector remains strong, with talent in demand across all disciplines (development/corporate, finance and disputes). Good candidates with funds and commercial technology experience will also garner interest.

SINGAPORE - (Interim)

With companies rounding up matters for the end of the year, the interim market is getting busier. Legal departments throughout different industries have budgetary approvals to bring on additional support in the form of legal consultants.

SOUTH KOREA

The most notable legal news in the Korean legal market this month is the announcement that Baker McKenzie’s Seoul office will be entering into a joint venture with KL Partners. After the announcement of the Ashurst joint venture almost one year ago, many people thought that it might be a rare exception. It will be interesting to see if other firms decide to follow suit in the year ahead now that Baker McKenzie has also taken the plunge. These joint ventures could change the competitive landscape for both Korean and international law firms seeking clients and lawyers in the Seoul market. It could also present more opportunities for foreign-qualified associates to work in Seoul as the international firms grow their Korean businesses. This would be welcome news as hiring for associates by the international firms has remained somewhat slow for the past year.

JAPAN

Although most international firms in Tokyo remain slow, the largest Japanese firms continue to expand and evolve, with “Big 4” Japanese firm Nishimura’s change to its management structure to allow for foreign equity partners being the most newsworthy development. The vast majority of Japanese firms are legally structured such that equity partnership is limited to bengoshi, but Nishimura follows Anderson Mori and Atsumi & Sakai in adopting a foreign law joint enterprise structure. Anderson Mori also became the first major Japanese firm to open an office in Brussels. Hiring of foreign associates, unfortunately, remains slow, with the few openings generally being replacement roles, and isn’t likely to pick up by the end of the year. We remain hopeful, based in part on an uptick in open transactional roles in the US, that the market will begin to improve from next year.

AUSTRALIA

Over the last month we have seen continued demand for mid-level and senior associates in M&A in both Sydney and Melbourne, predominantly at mid-tier firms. We’ve noticed a slight uptick in roles for commercial litigators and opportunities for major project/infrastructure lawyers remain steady. Front-end restructuring senior associates are also in need by several top-tier firms. Firms are currently taking a cautious approach to recruitment. The bar for entry is higher than ever with academic grades and previous firm history being analysed more than usual. Firms continue to be cautious when considering foreign-qualified lawyers who require working visa sponsorship.

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.