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Andrew Wallace
Private Practice team
Hong Kong
Asia Practice Market
Taylor Root has been recruiting lawyers into Asia for over 10 years. We established our Hong Kong office in 1998 and are widely regarded as the premier recruitment team in the region. Our experienced consultants visit the major cities in the region on a regular basis and have an unparalleled knowledge of market conditions. The last year has seen a continued improvement in the Asia economic region and we have seen recruitment activity pick up over 40% on 2004 and expect this to continue into 2006. Below is a brief synopsis of the recruitment market in each region that we deal with. For further information or an informal discussion please do not hesitate to contact one of our consultants.
Hong Kong
The area that most firms have been recruiting is corporate with the majority of firms hiring corporate finance lawyers to work on the numerous IPO deals that are happening in Hong Kong. As well as IPO work there has also been more M&A deals coming through and this has created opportunities for local and international lawyers. There have also been good opportunities for lawyers on the litigation (commercial and shipping), finance, projects and IT/IP side. As ever Chinese language skills are a real benefit and firms have been keen to hire people with fluent Mandarin who can read and write Chinese; this has created an excellent internal market for local lawyers and also for Singaporean lawyers from top tier practices. Nonetheless, with the firms so busy and due to their international client base there has still been roles for candidates without language skills. Indeed this year has seen a pick up in the number of lawyers moving to Hong Kong from UK, Australia and the US.
Beijing / Shanghai
The world is continuing to focus on China and its economic progression. Over the last few years there has been enormous expansion of international firms into the PRC. Many firms are either based in Shanghai or Beijing or even in both Cities. Firms tend to have broad based practices in the PRC and they generally look to hire corporate lawyers who have Mandarin language skills. This is an excellent area for ambitious lawyers who are looking to make a name for themselves as roles generally offer an opportunity to take on high levels of responsibility within a growing practice.
Singapore
The Singapore firms have enjoyed another good year in line with the continued growth in the Asian economy. The corporate and projects areas of practices have been the most active on the recruitment side, but there have also been some good openings in litigation (commercial and shipping), capital markets and finance. We represent the off-shore arm of all the major international UK and US practices based in Singapore. The Singapore firms offer some excellent regional work and no Chinese language skills are needed to work there.
Tokyo
The Tokyo market has seen some changes in the structure of law firms with many of the international firms increasing the number of Bengoshi in their practice. This has enabled firms to continue growing and this growth has created opportunities for lateral hires of international lawyers. With the added Japanese capability it has also meant that language skills are not so essential for many positions, although candidates with Japanese language skills are at a distinct advantage. The main areas of recruitment that we have seen over the last year have been finance, capital markets, corporate, energy and projects, and litigation.
Bangkok
Bangkok is one of the most fascinating cities in Asia and there are still opportunities there for international lawyers. The major international firms there have continued to carry out recruitment over the year, but there has not been an increase in levels that we have seen with some of the other regions in Asia. The firms tend to focus on corporate, projects and international litigation work. This is an excellent area for outgoing lawyers who want to ensure that they do a broad spread of work.
For further information please contact:
Michael Luckett
T: +852 2973 6333
E: michaelluckett@taylorroot.com.hk
Latest Salary Survey
We have collated the latest recruitment trends and salary information within our Private Practice Salary Survey for Hong Kong. For a free copy of our latest Salary Survey for the Hong Kong market please email Michael Luckett.