Senior Debt Finance Associate - Tokyo

Position: A prominent US law firm is seeking a senior associate with extensive debt finance experience for its Tokyo office. Japanese language skills are not required if candidate has demonstrated ties to Japan. Read more…

Senior Capital Markets/Finance Associate - Hong Kong

Position: A very prestigious firm is looking for a US senior associate with experience in finance, equity capital markets or private equity for its Hong Kong office.  Read more…

Junior Bilingual/Litigation/Tech & Patents Associate - Tokyo

Position: A very prestigious law firm is seeking a junior associate with at least two of the following backgrounds or skills: Japanese language skills/Litigation experience/Tech & patent experience.   Read more…

Junior Leveraged M&A/Debt Finance/Leveraged Finance Associate - Tokyo

Position: A global law firm is looking for a junior associate with leveraged M&A, debt finance, or leveraged finance experience.  Read more…

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If you want to know how the international assignment is really going, ask the spouse.  It is well known that the success or failure of a stint abroad can depend almost entirely on the level of contentedness of the trailing family members.  We offer some personal insights gathered from our candidates regarding the practicalities of a move abroad and what we find helps dependants make the adjustment to a new life.  They may not work for everybody but they might be helpful to some.

Find out as much as possible about life and daily living before you leave

If possible, go on a fact-finding trip before you make the move.  You may be fortunate enough to find a home on that visit but, if not, at least you will have an idea of what is available and therefore what to pack and what to leave behind.  Take lots of pictures on this trip if you have children who are unable to visit.  It can help with pre-trip nerves to know what to expect, be that where you might live, where they might go to school or what the shops and streets look like.   Language lessons can also help and don’t sneer at any offer of cross-cultural training – it can really help. Read the rest of this entry »

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Herbert Smith has opened a new private client practice in Hong Kong in order to gain a foothold in the growing Asian wealth management industry.

London partners Rupert Ticehurst and Robert Hunter have transferred to Hong Kong to launch this practice along with Hong Kong partner Mark Johnson. They will advise high net worth individuals, trust companies, private banks and charities on tax, trust, charities and succession planning issues.

Ticehurst, who heads the firm-wide private wealth and charities practice, has said that he noticed the lack of private client lawyers in Asia while touring the region. “There is a gap in the market, in particular in Hong Kong, to provide these services [on contentious trust and estate cases],” he added.

According to the 2009 Merrill Lynch- Capgemini wealth management report, by 2013 there will be more high net worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific region than there will be in North America.

The firm commented that it received a positive reception at the launch and estate-planning opportunities seminar that it held by executives at banks such as Credit Suisse, Bank of American Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs.

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Orrick Hong Kong securities and finance partner Michelle Taylor will take over as the new head of China after the current head, James Tervo, relocates to San Francisco. She joined Orrick’s Hong Kong office in 2007 as partner and head of the Asia financial markets practice. Taylor specializes in securitization and structured finance. Orrick has also appointed and promoted several other lawyers in its China offices, including Andrew Dale’s promotion to partnership and the recruitment of partner Phoebus Chu from Paul Hastings in Hong Kong, Michael Haworth’s relocation to Hong Kong, the joining of Wu Niping from Clearly Gottlieb in Beijing, and Thomas Tobiason’s relocation from Silicon Valley to Shanghai.-

Covington & Burling has appointed Timothy Stratford as a partner at the firm’s Beijing office after he resigned from his previous position as an assistant US trade representative for China affairs. He will be a member of the firm’s international trade, IP and government affairs practice groups and will focus on advising international clients doing business in China, in addition to assisting Chinese companies looking to expand globally. He is the most senior former US trade official to enter the US business community in China, and will join a team of former trade officials at Covington, such as former deputy treasury secretary Stu Eizenstat, former deputy US trade representative John Veroneau, and former Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Al Larson.

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Clifford Chance has hired former Ashurst partner Alan Kitchin to head the firm’s corporate and projects practice in Japan. Kitchin founded Ashurst’s Tokyo branch in 1991 and was managing partner there till 2002. He will advise with international corporate and commercial transactions, including domestic and cross-border M&A, joint ventures, listings and projects.

Peter Charlton, the firm’s regional managing partner commented: “Alan is the latest recent key appointment in Tokyo, and underlines how importantly we view that market. Last year, dispute resolution partner Jim Jamison relocated from Hong Kong and, in March 2009, we were joined by capital markets partner Reiko Sakimura.”

This is part of Clifford Chance’s plan to build a strong corporate and projects team to work with top Japanese companies.

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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced its 2010 associate salary rates, the first major UK firm to do so. Freshfields, which was the first firm to freeze both pay band levels and lawyers’ progression through the bands last year, will lift the freeze on associate lockstep from the new fiscal year. However, the pay bands themselves will not be increased.

First year associates will be paid £59,000, while the second year rate will be £66,000, the third year rate is £73,000, and the fourth year rate will be £86,000.

As a statement from the firm said: “We have decided that there will not be a salary freeze for the coming financial year. While the outlook globally is still uncertain, our people have worked very hard to help our clients and the firm through the challenges of the last year or so, and we are grateful for the contribution everyone has made.”

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Ashurst’s India group head, Richard Gubbins, is focusing on Asia – specifically the Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Hong Kong offices – to be the focal points for its Indian presence after the Bombay High Court ruled in December 2009 that the Reserve Bank of India should not have granted the firm a license to open a liaison office, causing the firm to close its new Delhi office.Gubbins said: “We never practiced law there, so it had served its purpose from our point of view. We’re turning our attention to Asia - there’s very much a shift to targeting India from there rather than London.”

Gubbins will be based in London, but the firm’s India strategy will focus on four sectors, which will be overseen from Asian offices.

Keith McGuire will lead the Indian corporate offering from ­Singapore, while Matthew Bubb, also in Singapore, looks after the firm’s infrastructure offering alongside Dubai partner Joss Dare. Abu Dhabi partner David Wadham will head the Indian energy business, while the finance side is ­covered by the Hong Kong and Singapore offices.

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Asia’s law firms are starting to offer flexible working arrangements, such as adjustable working hours and options to work from home, at a time when firms are freezing salaries and reducing pay. Singapore’s Drew & Napier, Korea’s Yulchon, India’s Khaitan & Co, and Vietnam’s VILAF all let lawyers work from their home if they want to. Gulf-based Fitche & Co even offers three-day work weeks for some lawyers, along with job share arrangements. “Working flexibility and environment is one of the best things of this firm,” said one lawyer from FoxMandal Little.Korean firm Yulchon is especially kind in its arrangements. “Individual associate experiences will, of course, vary according to the work style of the partner supervising on a given matter, but in general the firm doesn’t care when you work or how long you are in the office if you get the job done,” said one respondent. “I can and will stay late at the office, but I prefer to work at home outside regular office hours when needed. Here I have that flexibility; to my knowledge, that is much rarer at other top firms.”

“Married women could take good advantage of the home-working system, which is well established here at Yulchon,” said another.

Most firms will take into account each individual lawyer’s circumstances and come up with a working arrangement if asked to. However, not all firms have arrangements in place. A Hong Kong lawyer stated: “No [arrangements] offered here, and we still have rostered Saturday work.”

In Japan, the work culture is a lot harsher: “As a firm policy they may offer some of these arrangements, but in this particular office I am certain an associate who took advantage of them would be fired within the year.”

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Morgan Lewis-TMI has acted as international counsel on long time client Sumitomo Corporation’s tender offer to acquire shares of Jupiter Telecommunications to increase its holding to 40%, a position that would make Sumitomo JCOM’s largest stakeholder. Partners Lisa Yano, Kunio Namekata and Ippei Takushima led the advising team, while Mori, Hamada & Matsumoto acted as Japanese counsel for JCOM.

Davis Polk advised the mangers for the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s US$1 billion notes offering, along with local Vietnamese counsel YKVN. Eugene Gregor, a partner at Davis Polk, commented: “It sets a sovereign benchmark for future financings by other Vietnamese issuers.” The managers on the transaction were Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche bank Securities, BNP Paribas Securities, Calyon, Daiwa Capital Markets Singapore, and Nomura International. Lawyers from Davis Polk’s Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London offices were involved. Allen & Overy acted for the of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has advised Indian financial services firm Religare on its acquisition of a 65% stake in Northgate Capital, valued at approximately US$200 million. This is part of Religare’s $1 billion plan to expand its global investment portfolio and is its first US deal. The deal will let Northgate’s five partners to keep a controlling interest in their venture capital and private equity units as well as mine asset opportunities in India and Asia. New York M&A partners Robert Goldbaum and Steven Williams led the firm’s team, while Shearman & Sterling acted for Northgate with New York M&A partner John Marzulli Jr. and asset management partners Nathan Greene and Don Lonczak leading the advising team.

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Goodwin Proctor has hired Lorraine Lau, formerly a partner at Mayer Brown, to be part of their business law department in Hong Kong.  Lau will work with the firm’s corporate practice in the US in order to expand the firm’s presence and client base in Asia.  Lau specializes in corporate finance, capital markets, and securities transactions, which complements the firm’s expertise in the US.  She also is knowledgeable about Hong Kong law and her hire will allow Goodwin Proctor to start providing clients with advice about Hong Kong law. She has previously advised both international and PRC corporations, along with top-tier investment banks in Southeast Asia, with a focus on Hong Kong and the PRC.  Her practice includes advising on all aspects of corporate law, including M&A, capital markets, IPOs, private equity and foreign direct investments, Sino-foreign joint ventures, debt restructurings and workouts, as well as takeovers and privatizations

Baker & McKenzie has enticed Haruhiko Ogasawara to join as a counsel in its Tokyo banking & finance practice group. He previously was a junior partner at Atsumi & Partners, where he focused on real estate securitization, public offering of J-REITs and securitization of loan receivables. He is also has experience in M&A, finance and capital markets.  There are now 41 lawyers in Bakers’s Tokyo banking & finance practice group with Ogasawara’s hiring.

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4+ Years Corporate Associate - Hong Kong

Position:  An international firm is looking for a corporate associate with 4+ years experience in general/commercial corporate matters.   Read more…

Senior Corporate Bengoshi - Tokyo

Position:  A leading international firm is looking for a Japanese bengoshi with 5-6 years experience as a corporate bengoshi at law firms in Japan working on M&A and cross-border matters.  Read More…

5+ Years Hong Kong Regulatory Associate - Hong Kong

Position:  A global law firm is seeking a Hong Kong Corporate Regulatory Associate with 5+ years Hong Kong regulatory experience in Securities, Futures, FX, Banking and Insurance.  Read more…

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