1-3rd Year Corporate Finance Associate - Hong Kong

Position: This firm is seeking a junior to mid-level associate with corporate finance experience to join their Hong Kong office.  Read more…

Junior Corporate Associate - Shanghai

Position: This firm’s Shanghai office is looking for several junior corporate associates with M&A, PE, FDI and/or capital markets experience and Mandarin fluency.  Read more…

2+ Years Equity Capital Markets Associate - Shanghai/Beijing

Position: This top international firm is seeking junior to mid-level candidates with experience listing PRC companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from leading international firms in China to join their Shanghai and Beijing offices.  Read more…

5+PQE Senior M&A/Private Equity Associate - Tokyo

Position: This top New York law firm is looking for a senior attorney with significant corporate/M&A experience for their Tokyo office.  Read more…

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Many young lawyers in the United States are picking up the pieces and trying to sort out their next career moves after the 2009 recession left them with deferred start dates at big firms or, worse, jobless. “As the profession lurches through its worst slump in decades, with jobs and bonuses cut and internal pressures to perform rising, associates do not just feel as if they are diving into the deep end, but rather, drowning,” according to a recent article in The New York Times that detailed new associates’ drastically pared down expectations of their chosen careers.

But for lawyers who choose to begin their careers in Asia, the outlook is much more upbeat. First, the economic boom that gave rise to the high legal times of the mid-2000’s, right up to 2007, happened later in Asia. And Asia is recovering more quickly from the recession as well.

CNN recently reported that the People’s Republic of China and India are leading the recovery in Asia, and that the numbers in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are encouraging as well. China, in fact, continues to pass laws and regulations that should provide new practice areas for lawyers. For instance, at the end of 2009, the PRC passed a tort liability law that addresses compensation for injuries caused by defective products, unruly animals and collapsing buildings. Continue reading… »

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Following the last two years of salary freezes and lowered bonus structures, expat packages in China and Japan have become a hot topic among American lawyers living abroad as well as those relocating from the U.S. and U.K.  The top firms are weathering the 2009 economic crisis just fine, thank you, according to recent data gathered by ALB Legal News. Most firms that are paying competitive packages in Asia and the Middle East continue to attract and retain top legal talent. This is especially true of firms that, as newcomers to the market, are anxious to increase their ranks.

Firms remain committed to the region, investing resources into their foreign offices, hiring or promoting partners, and continuing to offer competitive remuneration packages to their strongest attorneys, especially bilingual ones. However, while expat packages have for the most part remained stable, especially in more mature legal markets like Tokyo and Hong Kong, there is variance among firms and a willingness there to negotiate and make offers on a case-by-case basis. Continue reading… »

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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. Continue reading… »

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To M&A, add private equity as a growing sector of the Asian economy that is attracting foreign companies and law firms.

According to a new research report from Zero2IPO Research Center, a PE research institution located on the Chinese Mainland, the total amount of newly raised PE funds targeting Asian markets in Q3 ‘09 continuously rose.

Six PE funds were available for investment on the Chinese Mainland, fulfilling their fundraising for US $2.47 billion, according to the report. Q3 ‘09 also saw 20 enterprises on the Chinese Mainland garnering PE investment, 16 of which disclosed a total investment amount of US $982.92 million. In terms of exits, seven deals took place that quarter, among which four ended up with the listing of investees. Continue reading… »

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The top deals in Asia last year reveal that practicing corporate law in Asia continues to be a lucrative career choice, with the big firms doing billions worth of business in China, Japan and India.

Some of the biggest deals were initial public offerings. Haiwen & Partners represented China State Construction Engineering Company (CSCEC), China’s largest construction company, in a $6 billion IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the largest A-share IPO since 2007, and the country’s fifth-largest IPO ever.

Morrison & Foerster’s Hong Kong office represented UBS, JPMorgan, and CITIC in a $1.3 billion IPO of China Zhongwang, one of Asia’s biggest manufacturers of extruded aluminum products. The deal made Zhongwang’s chairman into one of China’s richest people.

M&A was again a hot practice area, with Clifford Chance in on top deals between China Minmetals/OzMetals as well as Delta/Buma and Royal Group/Millicom. Davis Polk & Wardwell represented Nikko Cordial Securities in its sale to Sumitomo Mitsui.

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Baker & McKenzie has represented Starhill Global REIT, a Singapore publicly listed REIT with S$2 billion prime office and retail assets across Asia, in connection with its January 20, 2010 purchase of the David Jones retail store in the Perth Central Business District in Australia, valued at A$114 million. The deal is the largest property deal in Perth for almost 18 months. Starhill is one of the first large Singaporean REITs to invest in Australia. Partners Roy Melick and David Jones, with partners John Walker, Lewis Apostolou and Tim O’Doherty, led the firm’s team

Watson, Farley & Williams LLP has advised a syndicate of lenders and swap banks led by KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited, as facility agent, and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd-Bangkok Branch, as security agent, with Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited, Export-Import Bank of Thailand and Thanachart Bank Public Company Limited as the other lenders, with a US$250 million financing provided to Precious Shipping Public Company Limited of Thailand. The capital will be used to finance up to 60 percent of the acquisition cost of the bulkers under 10 years of age, which will vary in size between 18,000 dwt and 58,000 dwt and which will be flagged either in Thailand or Singapore. Singapore partner Goh Mei Lin led the advising team.

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Litigants will soon be able to choose between having their case argued by either a barrister or a solicitor-advocate in the higher courts of Hong Kong. There are certain qualifications that the solicitor-advocate must fulfill before being able to be represent a litigant in the higher courts: solicitors with at least five years’ post-qualification experience and who satisfy further eligibility requirements may apply to the Higher Rights Assessment Board for the higher rights of audience. This change is attributed to the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2009 that was recently passed by the special administrative region’s Legislative Council. The benefits of this move include a wider talent pool, costs savings, and better service from solicitors. The Higher Rights Assessment Board is expected to accept the first applications in around a year.

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Vinson & Elkins LLP has appointed Sami Al-Louzi as partner after enticing him to join the firm from White & Case, where he was a partner at the firm’s Riyadh office for six years. Al-Louzi’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, privatization and project finance, and has represented clients in the banking, private equity, capital markets, energy, and telecommunication sectors in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and elsewhere in the Middle East, and is a native Arabic speaker.

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Simmons & Simmons has replaced regional managing partner Paul Simpson with Tim Field. Field is a corporate practice partner at the firm’s Abu Dhabi branch and advised on the creation of Bear Stearns’ Middle East asset management, fixed income and investment banking operations. On the other hand, Simpson is a Dubai-based projects specialist. Continue reading… »

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Zhongyin has opened up a branch in Fuzhou (Fuijian province) in order to better serve its Taiwanese clients with a dedicated Taiwan division. Fujian has been thriving due to Taiwanese investment for many years, but Fuzhou is one of only two cities in the PRC (the other being Xiamen where the firm already has an office) where Taiwan law firms are allowed to open offices. “Taiwanese clients are currently facing a very competitive business environment. More than ever, there is an increasing need for them to retain larger firms for their legal needs,” said Steven Hsu, senior consultant and director of marketing.

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