Lawyers seeking sunshine with their training need look no further than Norton Rose. Norton Rose now offers graduate trainees from Australia the opportunity to work in one of its five Asian locations and local trainees the chance to complete a six month roation in Australia. Norton Rose has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing or Jakarta, and is the only top 10 UK firm offering Australian trainees the chance to cement ties with the regional hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore.

“We are working in a regional market,” said Rolf Moses, director of people and development for Norton Rose Australia, who organised trainee secondments to Asia. Moses is also responsible for placing trainees from Hong Kong and other Asian jurisdictions in the Australian offices. For those wondering what areas offer placements, Moses identified energy and resources, construction, general corporate and finance as areas open to trainees wanting to complete a rotation in Australia.

He also said the process definitely works two ways. “The benefits of joining a global legal practice are clear and our ability to move our graduates and young lawyers into offices overseas is one factor that attracts lawyers to us. Along with offering 14 Australian second-year lawyers opportunities offshore, we are currently hosting lawyers from London on secondment and will soon be hosting trainees from Asia,” he said.

Moses also mentioned that a Hong Kong graduate will be joining the Sydney corporate practice group for a six-month secondment later in 2011, and by 2012 London graduates will be able to tick Australia as a preferred destination, making each Norton Rose office multi-cultural. “The great thing is that not only will these trainees be living and working in Hong Kong, for example, they will also be working with graduates from London, the US and all over the world essentially, and they will all be in it together,” he said.