At what point of their careers should young lawyers be applying for a stint at an overseas firm? Recruiters in the Asian market say that lawyers with more than two years experience are most in demand. “Four to six years experience lawyers seem to be having the most success,” said recruiter Jane Dwyer from GR Law. Similarly, Lewis Sanders managing director Emily Lewis said that two to five year qualified lawyers were more sought after than those with seven to eight years, who she said would find it “more difficult”.

However, senior level practitioners such as partners will find it increasingly difficult in markets such as Hong Kong or Singapore, according to recruiter David Tallala. This is because overseas partners often would not have the client contacts firms are looking for when appointing a new partner. “My experience with the Singapore and HK market is that they are already top-heavy enough, and will not be looking to appoint more senior people,” he said.

At the other end of the spectrum are graduates who happen to be in high demand, despite their lack of experience. Herbert Smith recruitment and corporate partner in HK Tommy Tong said his firm travels to Melbourne once a year to recruit graduates from the universities there for trainee positions in HK. Despite the numerous advantages in working overseas in markets such as HK and Singapore, Tong said he has found that many students are not keen to work overseas so early in their career. “The feeling I get is that there is a dilemma for graduates as to whether they should complete their two years of training in HK or in Australia,” he said. 

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