Private Practice - Lawyers
After a big jump in lateral moves in 2021, Hong Kong and Mainland China were relatively quiet for private practice due to the Zero Covid policy and the economic environment in 2022.
At the same time, the Southeast Asia market continued to strengthen and benefit from its decision to reopen earlier from its COVID restrictions.
Opportunities & Challenges
In Hong Kong and Mainland China, we observed much less hiring in capital markets, corporate and funds areas. Meanwhile, there were continued needs for restructuring, dispute resolution, banking and employment lawyers. It's worth noticing that offshore firms' remained busy in 2022 and continued to attract top-tier international firm talent across different areas, including corporate, funds, banking and dispute resolution etc.
In Singapore, private practice hiring momentum remained strong throughout 2022, and we saw increased demands in PE/VC, capital markets, dispute resolution, projects and IP etc. Other than the booming economy in the Southeast Asia market, two key factors included team moves fueled by joint ventures between international law firms and leading local firms and recruitment for new teams driven by the arrival of new partners. Foreign lawyers from the US, UK, Australia and China also considered Singapore an attractive legal market.
Outlook for 2023
Despite the gloomy global economic forecast, the market in China is expected to bounce back in 2023, given the encouraging signs of the country's reopening. This will positively impact the region's hiring appetite compared to other geographies as we anticipate the demand for experienced associates (both Singapore/ commonwealth qualified) will remain buoyant across practice areas in Singapore.
Michelle Hu
Associate Director Private Practice +852 2520 0866 michellehu@puresearch.com
Sabina Li
Principal Consultant Private Practice +852 2520 5454 sabinali@puresearch.com