After the doom and gloom pervading economic reports in the past year, it seems like expectations in Asia are finally on the rise. Reports of economic ‘green shoots’ and the recent flurry of activity on the HKSE have boosted confidence and savvy law firms are already looking ahead to 2010.
|
Key findings
• 35% of Asia employers overall plan to increase headcount.
• Law firms in Hong Kong are on the look-out for lawyers with capital markets experience and Mandarin language skills.
• Market in Singapore remains competitive for candidates and law firms are on the look-out for lawyers with very specific skills.
• Recruitment is expected to pick up after Chinese New Year 2010.
|
According to 'The Hudson Report - Hiring and HR Trends Hong Kong', 35% of Asia employers overall plan to increase headcount (up from 22% in Q3), and expectations among Hong Kong employers are rising more rapidly than in the other markets surveyed in Asia. Whilst law firms in particular are still slightly cautious when it comes to hiring – only 15% of respondents in the legal sector forecast an increase in hiring this quarter – none anticipate a decline and there is some activity in the areas of corporate finance, litigation and insolvency.
Given the recent mini-IPO boom of Chinese companies listing on the HKSE, firms are now on the look-out for lawyers with capital markets experience and Mandarin language skills. “You find firms screaming for candidates who have got those skills, even in a situation where we have a terrible recession,” said James Garzon, director and chief operating officer of recruiter Law Alliance in Hong Kong. The problem is not too many candidates but too few with the requisite skills.
Other areas are starting to pick up as well. “M&A activity has increased very noticeably over the last couple of months and this market will continue to strengthen,” said Henry Ong, partner at Weil Gotshal. Ong is confident that the increase in legal work will be sustained and is currently recruiting Hong Kong-qualified lawyers at a mid-to-senior level with M&A experience for his practice. But he is not finding it easy, he says, due to the relatively shallow pool of lawyers with M&A experience in the market.
Garzon has also observed that law firms who are hiring don’t have the luxury of only perfect candidates. “Firms are still passing over highly qualified candidates to look for someone who can fulfill their whole wish list but the reality is that they aren’t out there. Those that may be able to satisfy the majority of the requirements on that wish list still remain rare in the marketplace,” he said.
Although there has been an increase in work, firms are still exercising caution. “It will be a while before it really picks up. Lawyers, partners – they’re very conservative. They are likely to wait until they are really busy before they hire and they will be far more careful about hiring huge numbers,” said Garzon.
Of course, there are two approaches to recruitment in this market. “Some will wait and see and some will want to be ahead of the curve. I think the ones that are hiring now will be the ones who are going to get their pick of candidates,” said Jacqueline Keddie, managing consultant at Law Alliance in Singapore.
Activity in the recruitment market in Singapore has also picked up in the second-half of this year. However, the market remains competitive for candidates and law firms are only recruiting lawyers with very specific skills. Keddie also notes that there has been some good movement in the market for in-house counsel as some multi-national corporations seek to expand their Asia operations.
Recruitment may slow down as the year draws to a close but that is to be expected even in a good year. Further activity may not pick up speed until after Chinese New Year in 2010. Lawyers in Singapore, Hong Kong and China will probably be the first to feel the effects of an increase in activity and it will be locally qualified lawyers filling the first roles. Legal recruitment in Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand will be slower to follow as firms there generally have smaller teams.
Unfortunately, Garzon has bad news for lawyers in Japan. Private practice has been hit hard as many international law firms struggle with the loss of legal work generated by inbound investment from the US. “They are not hiring anyone, at any level, in any firm,” says Garzon.
Nevertheless, there is still an atmosphere of cautious optimism as the rest of Asia slowly emerges from a global recession. “We recruiters are feeling really positive about the market. Candidates still need to be careful, but if they are patient, the signs are there that things are improving and we can be quite optimistic on what 2010 will bring,” said Keddie.
|
Permanent hiring expectations in Hong Kong
|
|
Sector
|
Increase
|
Steady
|
Decrease
|
|
Banking & Financial Services
|
43
|
54
|
3
|
|
Legal
|
15
|
85
|
0
|
|
Manufacturing & Industrial
|
29
|
65
|
6
|
|
All Industries
|
35
|
62
|
3
|
Source: Source: The Hudson Report, Hong Kong – Q4 2009
|
Key findings
- 35% of Asia employers overall plan to increase headcount.
- Law firms in Hong Kong are on the look-out for lawyers with capital markets experience and Mandarin language skills.
- Market in Singapore remains competitive for candidates and law firms are on the look-out for lawyers with very specific skills.
- Recruitment is expected to pick up after Chinese New Year 2010.
|
Related Stories: