K&L Gates has bolstered its corproate practice by adding W Rose Zhu to its Beijing office. Zhu, who is leaving Allen & Overy LLP, recently led the team that advised on the global offering of common shares by the Agricultural Bank of China Limited, the world’s largest IPO in 2010. Zhu possesses extensive experience throughout the United States, Hong KOng and China, advising both international and Chinese companies in capital markets, mergers & acquisitions and financings. Zhu, a P.R.C. native, has led many pioneering and high-profile transactions, while also regularly counseling a number of leading P.R.C. institutions and regulators.

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Baker & McKenzie has hired Paul Elliott as the firm’s Asia Pacific Head of Project Finance. Elliot has extensive expertise advising clients on project, structured and cross-border financings, along with debt restructuring, in the power, oil, gas & petrochemicals, telecoms, transportation and water industries. Having practiced in England, Hong Kong, Thailand and New Zealand over a thirty year career, Elliot most recently lead the firm’s Finance and Projects practice group in Singapore. The assignment Elliot is set to begin on September 1, 2010 was created in response to increasing demands for integrated advice from clients involved in significant regional infrastructure projects.

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Although thousands of attorneys will work with a recruiter this year, most will spend less time evaluating recruiters than they do researching airfares on the Internet.  A recruiter should play a much larger role in the job-search process than simply relaying information about opportunities, especially when it comes to Asia based assignments.  Unlike the practice of law, the legal-recruiting profession is not regulated and does not require any type of license. Yet using a recruiter involves temporarily entrusting the course of your career to another person. As many recruiters turn their attention to the Asia legal markets with the domestic economic downturn, we thought it timely to suggest the following questions when interviewing a potential recruiter to determine their experience and expertise in the Asia legal markets.  There are many excellent legal recruiters out there, but not all recruiters are created equal and, most importantly, only a handful of recruiters have yet to gain the experience and the knowledge that the Asia legal recruiting field demands.

How long has the recruiter been working in the country of your choice? Cypress was launched in 2001, long before the Asian markets stepped into the world’s economic spotlight and became the focus of the world’s attention. As the first and only US-based legal recruiting firm to specialize exclusively on law firm and in-house placements in the China, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea legal markets, Cypress has built unparalleled relationships with the Hiring and Managing Partners of top-tier US and UK law firms as well as domestic and international corporations. With our narrow focus and profound understanding of the market, Cypress is uniquely positioned to provide accurate and up-to-date information regarding job opportunities as well as logistical, cultural and practical advice organic to the region.

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China Practice Partner - Los Angeles

This top US firm is looking for a China-related partner with corporate, dispute resolution and/or IP experience for it Los Angeles office. This firm has a strong Shanghai and LA based China practice. With a focus on both China and Japan, the firm is looking for a partner to act as a go-between the US and China practices. Top preference goes to bi-cultural partners and the firm is well-reputed as one of the top law firms for female partners. They focus on M&A, inbound and outbound investment, capital markets, arbitration and IP (preferably hard IP, but open to soft). The firm has no debt and offers a strong platform to build on, with a low cost base and a strong desire to diversify their existing platform. This is a great alternative to the Wall Street law firm experience.  Read More…

Senior International Capital Markets Attorney - Hong Kong/Beijing

The Hong Kong office of this leading law firm is seeking a senior associate for their International Capital Markets Group. Candidates must have at least five years of post-qualification experience, as well as experience in U.S. S.E.C.-registered equity and debt offerings, and Rule 144A offerings, including Hong Kong listings works. They must also have substantial experience advising and assisting on Exchange Act reports and general U.S. securities regulations. Fluency in Mandarin is required, along with strong communication and leadership skills.

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Following the last two years of salary freezes and lowered bonus structures, ex-pat packages in China and Japan have become a hot topic among U.S. and U.K. attorneys looking to relocate from the U.S. and U.K. to Asia. The top firms have weathered the economic crisis just fine according to data gathered by ALB Legal News, and most firms continue to offer competitive packages in Asia in order to attract and retain top legal talent. This is especially true of firms that, as newcomers to a given market, are anxious to increase their ranks.

Firms remain committed to the region, investing resources into their foreign offices, hiring or promoting partners, and offering competitive remuneration packages to their strongest attorneys, especially bilingual ones. While ex-pat packages have for the most part remained stable at top firms, especially in more mature legal markets like Tokyo and Hong Kong, we have seen more variance than ever over the past year. Increasingly there is a willingness to negotiate and make offers on a case-by-case basis.

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Junior Partner Opportunities - China: Beijing, Hong Kong

This global law firm is looking for M&A, inbound or outbound investment, dispute resolution and/or IP partners to join to their growing China practice in Beijing and Hong Kong.  The firm will also consider elevating a counsel or senior associate to partner as well as a more senior partner with a book of business of at least 1.5m to lead the China practice.  The firm is committed to the growth of their China practice and will match or exceed current compensation levels. Ideal candidates will have a book of business of 1.5 million, though the firm will consider other partners, counsel or senior associates.  Must have top academics and major law firm experience.  Candidates must be U.S. Qualified.  Chinese language skills are a plus, but are not required.

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Oil & Gas/Corporate Mining Senior Associates - Indonesia: Jakarta

he Jakarta office is seeking experienced oil & gas or corporate senior associates with Indonesian qualifications, experience and language skills. Candidates should have four to six years experience in upstream oil and gas or corporate mining in Indonesia. Must have Indonesian qualifications, experience and language skills. Read more..

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US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and British firm Denton Wilde Sapte announced on Wednesday that after discussions over several months, they will merge to create a massive 1,400-lawyer firm. If both firms’ partners approve the union on June 9th, the combined firm will be called SNR Denton and have a presence in 18 countries, with bases in London and New York. Denton has an Asian office in Singapore, and Sonnenschein has an Asian Pacific practice.

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Managing Partner Opportunity - Beijing or Hong Kong

Position: This global law firm is looking for a M&A partner to head their existing China practice. Prefer candidates with on the ground experience, a significant book of business and outstanding reputation in the market. The firm is committed to the growth of their China practice and will match or exceed current compensation levels.  Read more…

Mid-level Securities (litigation/dispute resolution) Associate - Tokyo

Position: This global law firm is looking for a mid-level securities (litigation/dispute resolution) associate for their Tokyo office.  Read more…

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Jun He has hired three IP partners from leading US firms in preparation for opening a new office in Silicon Valley. Two of the new partners joining Jun He are James Zhu and Zoe Wang, who previously served as Beijing and Shanghai managing partners respectively of Seattle-based firm Perkins Coie. The third new partner is Steven Cui, joining from Jones Day’s Beijing office, where he was counsel practicing IP law with an emphasis on patent procurement, technology transfer and portfolio management. “The arrival of the three new partners and their respective teams has bolstered the capabilities of our international IP practice group, and signals a new phase of growth for the firm in 2010,” says David Liu, senior partner at Jun He.” They will be leading the development of our soon to be launched Silicon Valley office, and will bring in many new PE and VC clients, who need strong patent legal advice and services when they invest into high-tech enterprises that are in growing and expanding stages.

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Although assets under management in Asia’s mutual-funds industry are almost back to pre-2008 market crash levels, the models of distribution are also changing. Ken Yap, Singapore-based director at Cerulli Associates, who spoke recently at AsianInvestor’s annual investment summit in Hong Kong, notes that the regional industry’s AUM reached $950 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2010, inching closer to the 2007 peak of $1.1 trillion. Yap’s figure covers Asia ex-Japan, including China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and India, with China’s share being the biggest and fastest growing.

Though it might seem that the industry has been stable, change has occurred below the surface, in the form of mixed fund types. In 2005, equity funds accounted for just 23% of the industry’s AUM, and today it’s 47%. Money-market funds once made up 25% of assets but are as low as 16% today. The structure of distribution is also changing, according to Yap, with banks now accounting for 43% of assets sold in mutual funds and securities companies another 37%. Though insurance companies only accounted for 4% as of the end of 2009, Cerulli finds that fund managers are adding resources and are eager to see this channel become more important, since insurance-linked products deliver more secure customers.

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