Friday Featured Jobs: Japan
Every Friday we post our latest job openings in Hong Kong, the Middle East, Singapore and Japan. As ever, we continue to look for qualified lawyers to fill a wide variety of jobs. This week, we have a number of new positions for which we are seeking ambitious legal professionals interested in working in Japan.
Global Pharmaceutical company is looking for a legal counsel in Tokyo. You will handle a variety of corporate commercial and compliance matters. Japan legal qualifications and experience in both private practice & inhouse is desired. Fluency in both English and Japanese is a must.
2. Marketing & Business Development-Tokyo
A great business development and marketing position at one of the world’s largest law firms. Prior experience in Pitching, CRM, event scheduling, research and analysis are essential as good management skills. Full bilingual ability in Japanese and English would be an advantage.
3. Associate Corporate Counsel-5+yrs-Tokyo
Opportunity to join the APAC legal team of a Fortune 500. The client is a leader of Security, storage and systems management solutions. The Associate Corporate Counsel will be responsible for Japan legal matters.
To apply for these and other positions, please visit our job search page at Law Alliance.
Apparently, the bad economy has left some senior level attorneys with a desire to hang on a bit longer than they might have in the past. Or maybe younger associates just have a mistaken perception that late retirement is the reason that they are not being promoted as rapidly as they’d like, despite the fact that the economy in general is likely a major cause too? We think it’s probably a bit of both, but People Management does seem to back the first assertion:
“A third of lawyers feel that their career progression is being hindered, particularly by a lack of senior level retirements in their company, new research has revealed.
The number of law firm partners retiring annually has fallen by one-third in the past 15 years, and the UK’s Default Retirement Age of 65 was also scrapped last year.
One in seven lawyers have now reported that their pursuit of partnership status is being held up by fewer partners retiring in their firm, according to figures from legal recruitment specialists Laurence Simons.
Only 7 per cent of lawyers specified ‘a lack of colleagues moving to work for other firms’ as the reason for their career progression stalling, found the survey of more than 200 lawyers working in private practice.
Since 1990, the number of solicitors has grown by 89 per cent, but the number of partners has only risen by 40 per cent. This has led to a “bottleneck” of lawyers competing for positions which have a decreasing turnover rate, said the recruitment consultancy.
‘The decrease in retirement figures has had a negative effect on promotion opportunities at all levels,’ explained Guy Adams, director co-head of private practice at Laurence Simons.
‘Where previously, years of tenure guaranteed a relatively quick succession up the corporate ladder, lawyers now have to consider alternative career strategies in order to achieve promotions’.
A separate analysis of 200 partner profiles at the UK’s top 28 firms showed that the average partner in the UK was aged 44 and had been with their current company for 11 years.”
Thoughts on promotions or lack thereof at your firm? Leave em in the comments.
If you think you need to make a career change, have a look at what’s on offer at Law Alliance.
Not too long ago we brought you the somewhat crazy yet actually kind of great recruiting video from a Dutch law firm (“The greatest law firm recruiting video ever!”). Now Roll on Friday brings word of firm that is possibly crazier and doing itself no favors with its legal marketing efforts:
“There’s a superb entry in the RollOnFriday halls of bonkers law firm websites this week. Say hello to the lawyers of Adnan Buyung Nasution & Partners of Indonesia: who hate any kind of stain with a zealous passion.
The firm is one of largest in Indonesia, and the founder, Adnan Buyung Nasution, is pretty pleased with his firm’s success:”
While we think we might actually enjoy working for that man, we have NO idea what is going on, nor do wee how you convince hot shot young attorneys to come on board and file important legal briefs in between mopping assignments.
Nevertheless, have a look at what’s on offer for lawyers at some of the best law firm’s in Asia (with slightly less hilarious websites) at Law Alliance.
Yet another foreign firm is expanding its foothold in China as Ince & Co has just confirmed the opening of a Beijing office to compliment its Shanghai and Hong Kong pratices:
“Lawyers in Ince & Co’s Beijing office provide clients with both contentious and non-contentious shipping and international trade expertise. The office is led by partner, Wai Yue Loh, who has moved from Ince’s Shanghai office, where he has been a resident lawyer since 2010. Wai Yue is supported by a multi-lingual team of lawyers providing commercial legal advice, and draws upon the expertise of lawyers in the firm’s international network of offices, particularly on cross border matters and commercial disputes.
‘With many of our lawyers visiting Beijing regularly to work with our clients, I am delighted that we have now opened a permanent office in this major city. This new office boosts our ability to service our international clients’ needs in China and further develops our strong regional capability,’ Ince & Co’s senior partner James Wilson said.”
You may also want to check out this quick primer on the opening of the legal services market in China.
Please visit us at Law Alliance to see what roles are on offer for lawyers in the PRC and elsewhere in Asia.
Friday Featured Jobs: Hong Kong
Every Friday we post our latest job openings in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and around the world. Asia continues to have a high demand for qualified candidates and there is also opportunity in the U.K, U.S. and other Western markets. This week, we have a number of new positions for which we are seeking high caliber legal professionals interested in working in the Hong Kong:
1. In-house Legal Counsel, Asia (based in Hong Kong)
Our client, an internationally known retailer, is seeking a lawyer to join its regional legal team based in Hong Kong. Reporting to the Asia Head of Legal, you will have exposure to a broad range of commercial and corporate work. You will also have involvement in corporate transactions as well as corporate governance matters.
You should be a qualified lawyer with a corporate/commercial background and have at least 2 years of post qualification experience with an international law firm. In-house experience would be preferable but is not essential. Chinese language skills are advantageous but not mandatory.
2. Corporate Counsel – 7 PQE+ – Hong Kong
Highly esteemed Telecommunication Company is recruiting a lawyer to join their legal team in Hong Kong. You will have exposure to a wide range of corporate finance transactions including acquisition, disposition and restructuring transactions.
You should be a Hong Kong qualified lawyer with at least 7 years of experience in general corporate work with some experience in the TMT sector. You should have excellent command in both spoken and written Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin) and English. You will find yourself working within a highly supportive, team-oriented environment.
3. Senior Legal Counsel, World Leader in Financial Services – 6PQE+ – Hong Kong
Join this world leader in the banking industry and play a key leadership role in its continuing expansion in Asia. As Senior Legal Counsel, you will be responsible for advising senior management on all legal matters affecting the business across the region, with a focus on global custody services and fund administration. You will be taking an active role in on boarding new clients, assessing and developing new products, services and markets, corporate and regulatory governance matters.
You should be a qualified lawyer with at least 6 years of post qualification experience in the field of banking law. Good understanding of the regulatory environment in the financial services industry is required and experience in asset servicing, custody or fund administration is advantageous. This position offers competitive benefits and high growth potential.
To apply for these and other positions, please visit our job search page at Law Alliance.
The Brief has opened nominations for its 2012 Middle East Awards 2012, which will be coming up in November.
“The Brief Middle East Law Awards 2012 will be held on 21 November 2012 and recognises the excellence and outstanding achievements of the Middle East’s leading law firms and in-house legal teams as well as the top deals and dealmakers. The Awards will attract over 200 of the Middle East’s most influential solicitors, in-house counsel, investment bankers, judiciary and CEOs, who assemble to celebrate with the winners as they accept their awards on stage. The event is the culmination of the months of intensive research that precede this important event. Winner information remains confidential until the awards ceremony itself, where they are revealed over a gala black-tie dinner. “
Of course you’ll want your firm to get nominated on the off chance that you can pilfer an invite and break out the tux, so here are the rules:
“Parameters
- Law firms, in-house departments, banks and accountancy firms must be based in Middle East.
- All deals must have a significant Middle East element to qualify.
- Work completed and services provided within the period of 1 June 2011 through 31 May 2012.
- Nominations close on 30 August 2012.
Composition of Judging Panel
General Panel – over 20 in-house counsel and private practice lawyers (Note: any judges involved in a specific deal or category are disqualified from voting for a related award category).”
To see what’s on offer at Magic Circle and other firms with offices in Bahrain, Dubai and throughout the Middle East, visit Law Alliance.
Way back when, we looked at whether or not you could benefit your career by learning Chinese. While the answer seems to be “maybe”, there are some ways that lawyers with a second language can help themselves in a down job market, according to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog:
“Unemployed lawyers looking for work in a lousy job market might want to brush up on their Korean or Chinese.
As international business disputes proliferate, law firms are bringing in flocks of attorneys with a flair for languages, although the jobs are almost always temporary.
This spring Apple Inc.’s AAPL +1.69%lawyers brought on dozens of Korean-speaking contract attorneys and document reviewers to help grind through a last-minute document dump from Samsung Electronics Co., 005930.SE +3.41%the Korean manufacturer with which it is locked in an epic patent battle over smartphones.
In fact, law firms and corporations that used to hire translators fluent in languages such as Japanese, Hebrew or Spanish now figure they can get legal skills in the bargain.
“For legal matters, translators and attorneys with foreign-language skills are probably in the same price range—you get more bang for your buck,” said Michael Reichwald, president of Yorkson Legal, a New York agency that supplies law firms and corporations with foreign-language-proficient lawyers and paralegals.”
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“The rise of the global economy—and the tilt toward Asia—has increased demand for lawyers who are fluent in Asian languages or who can help translate on deals or disputes in emerging economies, such as Brazil or India, said Belina Anderson, a commercial litigator whose practice includes French comparative law and legal translations.
But even the biggest law firms typically can’t afford to retain an army of bilingual lawyers just in case litigation pops up in one country or another.
So they often turn to staffing agencies. Fluent temp attorneys and document reviewers can help winnow down mounds of foreign-language material during trial preparation, flagging the relevant files for the firm’s senior litigators.
Staffing agencies might bill law firms anywhere from $75 an hour to as much as $150 an hour, depending on the contract lawyer’s expertise and other skills, such as knowledge of engineering. While such projects may be extended for some time, few contract attorneys jump from temp work for a law firm into full-time work.”
Read more on the rising need for bi-lingual lawyers at the WSJ Law Blog…
Again, it’s pretty clear that if you are not already highly fluent in a second language, you can’t expect to compete with the likes of non-native English speakers who have reached a high level of English language proficiency. But, there are some instances when even a moderate level of speaking/reading ability can be of service. We have seen expat lawyers placed in foreign destinations simply because they at least possess the skills to assimilate more quickly into a new work/living environment better than other candidates with no foreign language skills. Our advice is to consider improving your language skills or start from scratch, but don’t expect an immediate return on your investment.
Following in the footsteps of Korea, which is has been opening its doors to foreign law firms, Malaysia has begun making it easier for foreign lawyers to work in the region and prompoting firms including Trowers & Hamlins, Allen & Overy and Norton Rose to look into expanding their presence into the previously off limits market:
“The Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill 2012 sets out several options on how overseas law firms and lawyers could operate in the country.
These include firms opening their own offices advising on specific practice areas, for which the bill proposes a limited number of licences in a similar fashion to Singapore, or international partnerships with local firms, which may also be able to hire overseas lawyers.
Licences would be handed out by a selection committee led by the Attorney General and President of the Malaysian Bar Council, which would award, revoke or alter licence conditions and outline permitted practice areas.Those seeking to practise would have to pay a fee for their licence application.
Trowers last week confirmed it had become the first overseas firm to establish a local presence in Kuala Lumpur after gaining special approval from the Malaysia Investment Development Authority to open a non-trading representative office.
The firm now plans to apply for an independent licence to practise as soon as the new legal framework is in place – which could be as early as next year.”
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On the other hand, some observers say it’s not that big a deal:
“The proposed overhaul has met with lukewarm response elsewhere, with some partners suggesting the market is not international enough to attract overseas firms.
Hogan Lovells Asia managing partner Crispin Rapinet said: ‘Historically, the Malaysian market has always been a fairly domestic one, with less international work than is the case in other jurisdictions in Southeast Asia..”
Okay, we get that breaking into Malaysia is relatively small potatoes when compred building a presence in booming market like China for example. But, it seems somewhat sort sighted to discount the merits of gaining any possible advantage you can get in a globalizing economy where competition for clients and talent is becoming more fierce than ever.
And it just so happens that we just posted some jobs in Malaysia, so have a look at what’s on offer there and elsewhere in SE Asia at Law Alliance.