\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFind Staff\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\tHong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and beyond. \n\t<\/h2>\n\t
The team at Agnew O’Brien have been assisting lawyers locate positions both domestically and internationally for many years and understand fully what is required to successfully secure a new opportunity. We have deep knowledge and experience of the jurisdictions within which we operate and are able to support our candidates through each stage of the recruitment process. What we don’t know immediately we are able to find out quickly, ensuring that those we represent have all the information required to make an informed decision.<\/p>\n\t
We have assisted lawyers relocate to and throughout Asia for many years, placing candidates into law firms across multiple regional jurisdictions. Asia is a fluid legal market, which responds quickly to geo-political changes in the region, which in turn results in the need for pragmatic, commercial lawyers who are robust and can adapt quickly.<\/p>\n\t
Hong Kong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Hong Kong is a subtropical, autonomous territory and former British colony. Its sovereignty was transferred to the PRC in 1997 and is now a special administrative region of China. Hong Kong serves as a hub for international firms active in the ‘Greater China’ market.<\/li>\n
- Home to a vibrant, densely populated, multi-cultural urban centre, Hong Kong is a major port and global financial hub that retains a strong ex-pat community.<\/li>\n
- China’s trade and political tensions with the US, as well as increased internal regulations, is the most noteworthy development in recent times and has resulted in a significant downturn in Sino-American transactions. This has, in turn, generated a large amount of divestment, restructuring and repositioning work for Greater China practices and has been largely offset by a greater focus on domestic and regional transactions, as well as a boom of activity in the TMT, biomedical, pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors<\/li>\n
- The “interference” of the PRC in Hong Kong affairs has led to many ex-pat lawyers leaving HK, especially those with families, which has inversely increased the need for additional overseas lawyers in Hong Kong.<\/li>\n
- Lawyers looking to relocate to Hong Kong from overseas jurisdiction will ideally need to be common law qualified. Chinese language skills are increasingly important, given the influence of the PRC on the local economy, but are not always essential depending on the practice area \/ demand for a particular skill-set.<\/li>\n
- As a major global jurisdiction there are law firms of all shape and size, from local domestic through to larger international firms, including the Magic\/Silver Circle, US and leading Offshore practices. Most of whom have committed to remaining in Hong Kong and developing their Asian presence.<\/li>\n
- Candidates with experience in Corporate, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, FS\/Regulatory, Shipping & Aviation, Energy & Resources, Litigation & Arbitration, Corporate Crime & Investigations, Insolvency & Restructuring, TMT and Intellectual Property are of particular interest.<\/li>\n
- Salaries can vary widely, depending on the individual firm and your own skill set \/ experience level, while most firms will also offer a full benefits package & bonus in addition to relocation assistance, temporary accommodation. Salaries are usually paid in Hong Kong dollars, while the standard tax rate sits at 15%.<\/li>\n
- Non-residents wanting to work in Hong Kong will need to be sponsored by an employer. Legal spouses and children will be issued dependent visas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t
Singapore<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Singapore is a sub-tropical city-state and island country in Southeast Asia which is home to a major international port and global financial hub. A former British colony, Singapore remains a key destination for expats offering excellent career prospects, life-style and culture suitable for families and individuals.<\/li>\n
- Singapore’s status as a major legal hub has grown considerably in recent years. It now boasts one of the premier arbitration regimes in the world, and is quickly developing a highly sophisticated asset management industry and has put in place a world-class restructuring and insolvency regime, while the pharmaceutical, healthcare, life sciences, edutech, and fintech sectors have been extremely busy.<\/li>\n
- International firms are prohibited from providing Singapore law advice unless they meet strict criteria and become a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP). International firms have further options in being able to offer local law capabilities, either as a joint law venture (JLV) which allows local and foreign firms to establish a financially integrated entity or via a Formal Law Alliance (FLA), which enables foreign and local firms to collaborate but remain operationally and financially distinct. These approaches are increasingly widespread, although there is still a large cohort of international firms that are satisfied with informal collaborations with their local counterparts.<\/li>\n
- Lawyers looking to relocate to Singapore from overseas will need to be common law qualified. Asian language skills are increasingly important given Singapore’s importance as a gateway to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and India. That said, English remains a main language with leading regional, joint-venture and international law firms often recruiting high calibre lawyers from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand as well as the United States and India.<\/li>\n
- More and more global corporates are opening up or moving their operations to Singapore, given its increasing importance in the region, while wealthy Chinese nationals are also relocating there from the PRC \/ Hong Kong.<\/li>\n
- Candidates with experience in Corporate, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, FS\/Regulatory, Shipping & Aviation, Energy & Resources, Litigation & Arbitration, Insolvency & Restructuring, TMT and Intellectual Property are of particular interest.<\/li>\n
- Salaries can vary widely, depending on the individual firm and your own PQE level & skill set, while most will also offer a full benefits package & bonus in addition to relocation assistance and temporary accommodation. Salaries are usually paid in Singapore Dollars while the standard tax rate sits at 15%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t
Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Japan\u00a0is an island country in East Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean. Possessing a temperate climate and circa 3rd<\/sup> largest economy in the world, Japan has long been an attractive destination for lawyers keen to experience its culture and vibrant capital city, Tokyo, which is home to plethora of international companies and financial institutions.<\/li>\n
- Numerous international law firms have offices in Tokyo, given the economic importance of Japan globally, though they are much smaller than in other Asia hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Conversely lawyers in Japan generally benefit from a greater variety of work and increased responsibility in comparison to their peers in other international offices.<\/li>\n
- International investment into Japan continues and the legal sector is no exception, while sectors that have been extremely busy and are drivers for the future include TMT and FinTech.<\/li>\n
- Firms will usually look to hire local lawyers “Bengoshi”, albeit they will relocate foreign qualified candidates also, usually hailing from Commonwealth jurisdictions such as England & Wales, Australia and New Zealand or the United States of America with experience in core areas such as Corporate, Banking & Finance, Project Finance, Energy & Resources, TMT, IP & IT, Competition and to a lesser extent Dispute Resolution \/ Corporate Crime & Investigations.<\/li>\n
- Japanese language skills are of course beneficial, but overseas lawyers are often hired without such skill sets in practice areas of high demand.<\/li>\n
- Financial packages are very competitive but will vary depending on the firm and candidate while all firms will offer a full benefits & bonus and relocation package and will take care of temporary accommodation and visas. Tax rates are high, up to 45% for higher income earners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t
We have also worked extensively in other jurisdictions, including the PRC, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and India, to name but a few.<\/p>\n
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