Clifford Chance sizes up options for Australia launch
December 13, 2010 by Damian
It looks like the Australian market is bracing itself for the arrival of another international heavyweight, judging by this story in Legal Week :
Clifford Chance (CC) has been looking again at entering the Australian market, two years after informal merger talks with Mallesons Stephen Jaques ended in 2008.
The magic circle law firm has been considering options in the region and has held discussions with a number of firms on the ground in recent months.
Perth outfit Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe and Sydney firm Chang Pistilli & Simmons are among those CC is understood to have talked to within the last two months; however, discussions with both firms are now thought to have been concluded.
Seven-partner Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe was set up by two partners from Mallesons, Ian Cochrane and Michael Lishman, in 2006.
Seven-partner Chang Pistilli & Simmons was set up the same year by a group of partners from Sydney outfit Atanaskovic Hartnell, including dispute resolution partner Diana Chang and M&A partners Mark Pistilli and Danny Simmons.
News of the talks comes after informal merger discussions between CC and Mallesons ended in 2008 as a result of the market downturn. The firms had previously talked in 1999.
Name partner Ben Luscombe said: “This firm has been approached by inter-state and overseas firms interested in establishing a presence in Perth, but it is not our policy to comment on those approaches.”
CC refused to comment on its intentions but a partner conceded the firm was looking to launch via a team hire.
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose have both launched offices in Australia within the last year. Norton Rose tied up with Deacons, while A&O hired a group of partners from Clayton Utz and Freehills.
As the article states, it is not the first time that Clifford Chance has looked at establishing some sort of presence in Australia. However, with the arrival of A&O and Norton Rose, it looks like they have made the decision to look at it again, albeit in a more understated way than was planned with the Mallesons merger.
Looking at it in a broader sense, it is rare that where one international firm goes, the other international firms do not follow (unless you are talking about Slaughter and May). As such, in the coming few years, it would not be a surprise to see some of the other leading international firms making their way ‘down under’ and establishing a foothold in Australia.
Whether any of them will decide to travel the extra few miles to have a look down here is anyone’s guess but it would certainly make life interesting if they did!
New Rules For Migrants In The UK
November 26, 2010 by Damian
I have just seen this article in the ALB and thought that it would be worth sharing. It seems like not only are there currently fewer jobs in the UK but the government are making it harder for overseas lawyers to have access to them.
Australia lawyers thinking of heading to the UK in the near future will need to consider their options carefully following changes to the British skilled migration rules. From April next year Australians and other non-European Union nationals wishing to work in the UK under the skilled migrant visa will need to have a job before they can apply. The number of migrants able to apply for a skilled migrant’s visa without a job offer has been cut to 1000 per year and will only apply to people of “exceptional talent”. The tier one general category has been widely used by law firms to bring in new recruits from overseas; law firms will now have to apply under the tier two general category for skilled workers, but will be restricted by the new annual migrant cap of 20,700 per year.
“In recent times some employers have preferred for staff to come on a tier one visa, as they don’t require a sponsorship and the individual is responsible for themself. But that option is no longer available to lawyers. If you are a lawyer, you will now only have the tier two option available,” said Mary Horniblow, manager, private practice and international, Mahlab.
Applicants under tier two are required to apply for a visa from the UK Border Agency through the PBS, will have to be of graduate level, be sponsored by an employer and will be awarded points based on scarcity of skills and salary. “Because they have limited the tier two numbers and severely limited the tier one cap, there will be more competition for skilled migrant visas,” added Horniblow.
The new limit will also affect law firms which swap staff with “best friend” firms in other jurisdictions, but will not affect intra-company transfers where the income of the professional is more than £40,000. However, those professionals are limited to a five-year stay. This may lead to more Australian and New Zeland based lawyers trying to get jobs in UK firms with offices locally, said Horniblow.
Australians who can show British heritage can still apply for ancestry visas, while those under the age of 30 may still apply for working holiday visas. However, those professionals who enter the UK on such a visa will need to re-apply for a skill migrant visa if they intend to stay past their 30th birthday or longer than two years.
Notwithstanding the fact that there is now a limited amount of visas available, this is similar to the system that was in place before the introduction of the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa which did seem to work reasonably well.
However, my view is that although these rule changes are understandable given the current state of the market in the UK and the amount of locally qualified lawyers looking for work, if and when the UK market picks up again and staff become increasingly harder to find, they could be very detrimental to UK firms who rely heavily on recruiting overseas lawyers when they are busy.
When that scenario eventuates, I would not be surprised to see some loosening of these restrictions to allow UK firms to hire good quality overseas lawyers in order for them to function properly. When that will be is the million dollar (or pound) question.
Bad News From The UK
October 27, 2010 by Damian
All of the talk in 2009 was about redundancies. Most of the talk in 2010 was, if not about mass hiring, it was at least about consolidation. The accepted wisdom was that the days of making redundancies were now past. However the news that came out of the UK last week highlights in a very stark way that the dark days have not been consigned to a distant memory just yet.
Here is a summary of an article from this week’s ‘The Lawyer’:
Edinburgh-headquartered McGrigors has launched a redundancy consultation with the aim of cutting 40 jobs across its UK network of offices.
The redundancies are expected to affect fee-earners and support staff and will take place across the real estate, banking, projects and procurement, corporate, and risk advisory practice areas. The redundancy consultation, which began on Monday, is expected to conclude on 1 November.
In a statement a firm spokesperson said: “In May 2009 we announced a series of cost-saving measures which we hoped would allow us to ride out the worst of the downturn, protect jobs and safeguard the long-term health of the business in the event of an economic recovery.
“Unfortunately, over the past 12 months it has become increasingly clear that an immediate recovery is not going to emerge, and that we are instead facing a sustained period of market uncertainty – particularly while the effects of the public sector spending review become clear.
“This is not a matter which has been entered into lightly, and we do so only as a last resort. We’ve always endeavoured to do the right thing by our people and believe that everything possible has been done – such as secondments to clients or other departments, sabbaticals, flexible working, pay freezes – for as long as possible, to avoid this measure.”
McGrigors put in a fairly strong performance in the 2009-10 financial year, with turnover increasing 10 per cent to £69m.
McGrigors last cut jobs in May 2008, when it laid off nine real estate fee-earners (30 May 2008).
What is worrying about this redundancy exercise is that it is affecting not only property but also banking and corporate which are areas that were reportedly getting busier as opposed to contracting. Obviously this round of redundancies could be related to factors specific to McGrigors such as the firm still being over-staffed, poor management decisions or poor performance among other things.
Regardless of the reasons why, it should serve as a timely reminder to all NZ lawyers heading to the UK thinking that things are back to normal, they are not.
Getting The Job You Want
October 15, 2010 by Damian
It is common knowledge that, although the legal recruitment market is by no means booming, there are, at last, some good opportunities around to consider. In saying that, there are still some talented and experienced lawyers around so the competition for these roles can still be pretty fierce.
So, the question is – how do I make sure that I get the job as opposed to all of the other applicants?
The very simple answer to that question is to convince the employer that you want THAT job, not just A job.
When it gets to interview time, it is a reasonable assumption to make that after looking at your CV and inviting you to an interview, the employer believes that your technical skills are pretty well suited to the role. So, what they will be looking for during the interview is not only the cultural/team fit (which I talk about in a previous post) but also how much you want to work for them, not for their competitor down the road but for THEM.
This will be judged by factors such as how well you have researched the organisation, how knowledgable you are about the sort of work that they have done both individually and as a firm, how well you align your skills, experience, outlook and approach to theirs etc etc. In addition to this, your interviewing style should convey enthusiasm and passion for the role and the organisation. There is no point in saying all of the right things if you don’t say the right things in the right way.
Interviewers will be looking at all of this and their view on how keen you are on their job will form a huge part of their decision making process. To illustrate the point, it is worthwhile giving two scenarios that I became aware of recently.
Both Candidate A and Candidate B are very well qualified, highly educated, confident and personable lawyers who also happen to be looking for a job.
Candidate A was presented with an in-house opportunity which right from the initial conversation ignited a passion in her to get that job. She researched all she could about the organisation, what they did, what their plans for the future area are, watched online videos and basically left no stone unturned in her preparation. Importantly, she brought enthusiasm and passion into the interview. She wanted THAT job and she convinced the employer of that. Naturally then, she got it.
Candidate B was presented with an opportunity which was also of interest, given the skills and experience that she possessed and she very quickly was invited for interview. From the start, however, that passion and enthusiasm for that role was lacking. She did not prepare adequately for the interview, wasn’t aware of some of the recent work the firm had done and had only given the website a cursory glance. From what I can gather, the feedback from the employer was that she could obviously do the job but she did not convince them that she really wanted their job. She was just looking to get out of her current role. So regardless of the fact that she could do the job, she was not offered it.
The message that I am trying to get across is that, in the current recruitment market where it is still not easy to get a good role, it is absolutely vital that your approach from the start is to concentrate on getting that particular job, not any job, just that one. Prepare like it is the only job you are going for (even if it is not) and when you are in the interview, ensure that you convey the right amount of enthusiasm, energy and passion.
If you do that, there is a good chance that you will be made an offer. If you don’t, there is no chance that you will. In this market, getting an interview and not giving it your best shot is a huge mistake as the next role may not come along for some time.
If you are interested in some interview coaching and want to discuss how best to present yourself in an interview, give me a call, I would be delighted to have a chat to you.
Is Australia the New London?
September 27, 2010 by Damian
After eighteen months or so of pretty stagnant international recruitment and of candidates sitting tight and not investigating overseas opportunities, it seems as if, at last, people are now starting to move offshore.
As everyone knows, the usual route is to do some travelling through south-east Asia on the way to sleeping on some old mate’s floor in Earl’s Court or Clapham, drinking in The Church or The Outback, constantly checking out Easyjet and Ryanair for cheap European weekend getaways and hopefully getting some work with a reputable UK firm between weekends away and following the ABs on their annual end of year tour.
Although there are still a large number of people heading to the UK, I have detected a larger than usual number of people not wanting to go quite so far away and as opposed to drinking in some faux Australian bar in Covent Garden, they are looking to drink in a real Australian bar in Darling Harbour or St Kilda with weekends spent back home in NZ rather than in Estonia or Croatia.
The question that this has raised in my mind is – ‘why are more people now thinking about Australia rather than London’?
I think that there are a variety of answers to this. One of the main ones is simply a perception (and reality) that there are more opportunities for NZ lawyers in Australia than there are in London at the moment. The Australian economy has weathered the financial storm better than most and as such, after some headcount trimming in 08 and 09, most employers appear to be in expansion mode, albeit cautious expansion mode.
Secondly, the Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Act which means that NZ lawyers can practice in Australia without taking any further exams (and vice versa), makes the transition a lot easier for both candidates and clients. Consequently, employers are much happier to take a NZ qualified on than perhaps any other classification of overseas lawyer and some candidates are delighted that they can effectively just get on a flight and start practising straight away. This development is not a new one but in these days of cautious hiring strategies, taking someone on who does not have any visa or requalification issues is a real advantage to an employer and as the UK tightens up on its visa quota system, it is becoming harder and harder for candidates to get a role over there without a EU passport or ancestry visa.
Another recent development that has, in my view, made Australia a more attractive destination is the arrival of some of the big UK brands into the Australian market. Both Allen & Overy and Norton Rose have entered the playing field (along with constant rumours of other international firms establishing a presence) so it is no longer necessary to go to the other side of the world to secure a role in an international law firm. The threshold to get into these firms is very high, meaning that only very highly skilled and experienced NZ lawyers will make it into one of these firms but their arrival is a signal, if one were needed, that the Australian legal market is one of the most sophisticated markets in the world, staffed by top quality lawyers where you can really grow and develop your career.
As well as the above reasons, I have detected a feeling that the recent economic turmoil has made some people reconsider what is important to them and some have decided that in difficult times, perhaps it is better to be a little closer to home than on the other side of the world. Perhaps, as a result of the GFC, London has lost some of its lustre for people and the ability to move out of NZ but be only a three or four hour flight away is more of a draw card than warm beer, dodgy pies and grey skies.
A stint in a law firm in London is always going to be on a lot of young lawyer’s ‘to do’ list but at the moment, there are more and more people thinking that a stint in a leading Australian law firm is as attractive, if not more so, than a move to London. Whether this trend will continue is anyone’s guess but my view is that as the Australian market becomes more internationally focussed, it is now a genuine alternative to the UK OE and one very worthwhile investigating.
If you do want to have a chat about opportunities in Australia, please get in touch. I would be delighted to talk to you about it.
Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
September 3, 2010 by Damian
Sorry – it has been a long time since my last blog but just in case anyone is interested, the reason is that there has been a very recent and delightful addition to the Hanna family which has taken up quite a lot of my and more of my wife’s time!
Anyway back to recruitment. Recently, I have been working with two candidates whose individual experiences, I think, highlight the unpredictability of the job seeking process and how regardless of how good your experience is, the intangible ‘team fit’ can be the most important criteria of all.
Without going into too much detail, these two candidates – Candidate A and Candidate B – have very similar backgrounds. They have roughly the same amount of pqe, come from comparable firms, have experience in broadly similar areas and have the same reason for wanting to move roles.
Luckily for them, I had two good roles for them to consider and both decided to apply for both roles. Based on their CVs, both managed to secure first interviews with both firms and here is where things started to get interesting.
With Firm X, both candidates interviewed with the same people but came out with completely different feedback. Candidate A found the partners to be really warm and friendly, Candidate B thought that they were a little standoffish and distant. Candidate A really liked the sound of the work and Candidate B wasn’t sold at all. Candidate A wanted to progress and Candidate B did not really care whether they made it through or not.
The feedback from the firm mirrored the candidates’ feedback. They really liked Candidate A. They commented on his pleasant and engaging personality and thought that he would be a great addition to the team and moved him through to 2nd interview. The feedback on Candidate B was positive but in the end, it was felt that the candidate just wasn’t a ‘good fit’ for the team and they decided to end their interest there.
On to Firm Y and the situation was almost completely the reverse. Candidate B was much happier with the interview than Candidate A and Candidate B made it through to 2nd interview and Candidate A was not taken any futher, again for reasons of ‘team fit’.
So in the end, the result for both candidates was a positive one in that both managed to secure the job that they wanted over one that they were not so keen on. The question is, given that both candidates were so similar and both interviewed with the same people, why the divergence of opinion from both candidate and client on whether to hire them or not?
The answer to this question is easy to state but very difficult to elaborate on. The answer is that certain people warm to particular people more than others. There is a ‘connection’, a ‘click’, an instant rapport that is struck up with some people and not with others. If this connection or click happens in an interview, you invariably know it and you come out feeling confident and keen to progress. It is equally as noticeable if it is absent which leads one to think more negatively about the role and the employer – a feeling which is almost always felt by the interviewers as well.
What this ‘click’ or ‘connection’ is, I do not know but I do know that it cannot be manufactured or faked. All the interview preparation in the world is not going to matter if that connection is not established. Similarly, some candidates whose experience may not be that strong ‘get over the line’ because the interviewers really liked them and thought that they would be a ‘good fit’. If asked to quantify what a ‘good fit’ actually was, most employers would not be able to give more of an answer than – ‘it’s just a gut feeling that I have’.
The upshot of all this is that no matter how good your experience is, how well you prepare for an interview, the reality is that you will not get every job that you apply for. This is not because of something that you have any control over. It is just because some people get on better with particular people than others do. However, what this also means is that if you miss out on one opportunity because of a lack of a ‘good team fit’, you will almost certainly get the next one for exactly the same reason!
As the situation with the two candidates above highlights, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder as what one interviewer likes, another may not. The key is to keep searching until you come across the organisation that is going to see and appreciate your inner beauty over someone elses!
Don’t Believe All That You Read (Apart From What Is In This Blog)
July 13, 2010 by Damian
There is a well worn adage that you shouldn’t believe all that you read. However, as the legal press is pretty conservative, I, like most people, generally take most of what I read on face value.
People read these industry magazines to get an informed view of current events and from a recruitment point of view, to get a steer on trends and movements within the job market. As such, when people read an article commenting on the state of the job market, the message that the article conveys will permeate into that marketplace and create among the readers a perception of what the reality is.
However, when I read this article in the Australian Lawyers Weekly, it reminded me of the dangers of doing such a thing and of the responsibility that people in our industry have to give a realistic view of what the market looks like.
www.boxbreakers.com.au/News/Now-what-.aspx
The majority of this article is in fact a very informative discussion about whether lawyers who have had their pay frozen for 12 months should expect a pay rise to reflect that. There is also some very helpful comment about the dangers of jumping out of one’s current role on the basis of a minimal pay rise.
However, one of the commentators takes the discussion into a completely different realm when he states:
‘It’s an amazing market. Absolutely amazing. For a candidate it’s the most buoyant market I have ever seen.”
I have to say that I found this comment to be ‘amazing’. To make comments like the one above, in my view, gives job seekers a completely unrealistic view of their chances and is counterproductive. Any candidate reading those comments will think that it is now easy to get a job and in the event that they don’t, they will be wondering what is wrong with them.
“It’s the most buoyant market ever and I can’t get a job – what is wrong with me?”
I understand the hypocrisy of commenting on someone else’s opinion with my own. I am also aware that this article relates to the Australian rather than NZ market. However, I work closely with an agency based in Australia and the message that they convey to me is a lot different to the one above. Yes, things are better; yes, firms are hiring; yes, if you have a strong background, you should be able to get a job but according to them, it is not an ‘amazing market’, it is not a ‘buoyant market’ and to give people the impression that it is is a dangerous message to send.
Are We At A Crossroads?
June 17, 2010 by Damian
One phrase that keeps cropping up when I am talking to clients and candidates at the moment is that it is an ‘interesting time’ in the legal recruitment market. What is happening in the recruitment markets is always ‘interesting’ because it is a good barometer as to the overall health of the economy. In other words, if employers are looking for staff, things must be going pretty well.
Over the vast majority of the 8 years that I have been in recruitment, it is been reasonably easy to discern trends and subsequently give informed and accurate advice and information on what the status of the current job market is. What makes it especially ‘interesting’ at the moment is that no real trends are emerging.
The very general perception is that the market is improving and that is undoubtedly true, thank goodness, but we have to remember that we are coming off the historically low base of the last 18 months or so.
So, are there more jobs around? Yes there are but if you look a little closer, there are still not that many. In private practice, the majority of the ‘big firms’ are still recruiting very selectively, the mid-tier firms do not seem to be recruiting much either and the small firms are mostly still trying to keep the doors open as opposed to taking on new staff. Some firms have a ‘watching brief’ for suitable candidates (which is a good sign) but when it is a ‘watching brief’, the candidates need to be really, really good to be hired.
However, if one took a look at the amount of roles in the public sector, you would be surprised with the amount of opportunities available. Similarly, the number of in-house vacancies has definitely increased in the last 4-6 months. Why this is when the general talk is of cost cutting in the public sector and headcount freezes in the corporate world is an article all of its own so I will dwell no further here apart from to say that for candidates looking for a new role, it would be foolish to rule out the public and in-house sectors at this stage.
So, if we can take it that there are still not a huge amount of roles around, can we take it that there are hundreds of hungry job seekers going after every role? Again, for some roles, ‘yes’ and for others ‘no’. To give an example, a very well known public sector legal team advertised and got nearly 100 applicants for the role. (That is what you get when the job spec can apply to nearly everyone who has a commercial background). However, a very reputable financial institution have been looking for an intermediate solicitor for a number of months now and have not been able to fill the role despite advertising very heavily. Similarly there is a property role in Auckland that the client just cannot fill, despite the perception that there would be loads of property lawyers desperate to get out of their current roles due to lack of work.
So are people going overseas now? Again, yes and no. Some people who have put their OE off for 12-18 months have just decided to pack it all in and take their chances offshore. However, it seems like there is a large group of lawyers who have decided not to move offshore at the moment and are looking to progress their career here and travel offshore during extended holidays or have put it off until a lot later in their career. As such, the trend that, for years, nearly all Kiwi lawyers with 2 years experience will leave to go offshore is just not apparent at the moment.
Clients are also displaying some very interesting behaviour from a recruitment standpoint. Some clients, who historically shied away from using recruitment agencies, are now happy to avail of our services. These clients have taken the view that even though there may be a lot of candidates around, those good candidates are still really hard to find. Others have made the call to keep all of their recruitment in-house, presumably in order to save agency fees, as opposed to ensuring that they get the best candidate around. (Don’t they realise that some of the best candidates are too busy to check job-boards and look at legal magazines and enrol with people like us to do that for them?) What these employers will do when the market inevitably tightens up further will be very, very interesting.
So, all in all, the only trend that I can see is that there is no real trend around. The recruitment market is in a real state of flux with an obvious disconnect between the perception and the reality of its health. Hopefully very soon a trend will emerge where good candidates will find good jobs – that is the sign of a healthy and ‘normal’ recruitment market. I, for one, will be happy to leave these ‘interesting’ times behind.
Interesting NZ Law Firm News!
May 25, 2010 by Damian
The New Zealand legal landscape is not known for providing a huge amount of exciting news but in the last week or so, I have seen a couple of very interesting articles that are definitely worth a read.
The first one concerns the standing of DLA Phillips Fox in NZ and whether the firm is going to split off from DLA Phillips Fox Australia
http://au.legalbusinessonline.com/news/breaking-news/45796.
It also mentions a very juicy bit of gossip about where the NZ arm of the firm may end up.
That story is all speculation but a very interesting factual development has just been announced by Minter Ellison Rudd Watts –
http://lawyersweekly.com.au/blogs/top_stories/archive/2010/05/24/minters-nz-taking-on-uk-work.aspx
Minters in NZ “has uncovered a new revenue stream working with UK-based law firms and clients to assist with their legal work at around half the price of UK-based lawyer rates”.
My first thought was that this was quite a strange move for a leading NZ law firm, given the concerns there are about outsourcing, but on reading the article, the work accounts for less than 1% of the firm’s total revenue and is not in the firm’s core areas. So on reflection, I think that it is a very innovative idea for a NZ law firm, taking advantage of the expertise of the its lawyers and the time difference between NZ and the UK.
I suspect that this will not be the last time that this sort of arrangement happens!
The final article of interest concerns Kensington Swan –
http://au.legalbusinessonline.com/law-firms/new-equity-structure-ruffles-feathers-at-kensington-swan/1001/45857.
These sorts of things happen all the time in the UK, US etc so are hardly news at all over there. However, over here, they create a little more of a ripple.
Sometimes, when talking to people about the legal market in NZ, comments are made about how nothing ever seems to change. Judging by these 3 articles, it seems like there is going to be a bit of a shake up down here. AT LAST!
Around The World (In Just Over 1100 Words)
April 14, 2010 by Damian
Sorry for the delay since my last post but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging and we have to deal with more important things than legal recruitment. However, I am back on board now and think that it is a good time to give an overview of what is happening in the recruitment markets worldwide at present.
I have seen one of my competitors advertising that London law firms are now receptive to approaches by NZ lawyers. After speaking to my colleagues over in London last week, my view is that this is not quite the whole truth. It is the case that more jobs are coming on to the market in London. As a consequence of this, firms will not quite have the same pick of top quality candidates that they have had in the last 12-18 months and as such, they may have to reconsider who may or may not be suitable for their particular roles. As the locally qualified talent pool becomes more diluted, employers will have no choice but to look at overseas qualifieds to fill the gaps.
However, what is outlined above is not the reality just yet. Sure, I have heard anecdotal evidence that NZ lawyers in London are securing interviews. The caveat to that is that they are probably being interviewed along with 6, 8 or even 10 other people. In the candidate v law firm power struggle, the firms still hold all the power. Firms are still being very discerning about who they employ and they are willing to take their time to find the right person. As I write this in April, it is still going to be a rare occurance that that ‘right person’ will be an overseas qualified lawyer.
Don’t get me wrong – the market over there is improving. There is a general consensus that the worst is gone and that it is now time to look at and plan for the future. This forward planning, however, will be cautious and gradual but as it continues to take shape, opportunities for top quality overseas lawyers will come about. It is fair to say that those who are in the UK with their visa status secured will be at the vanguard of this trend. It is also fair to say that the most attractive prospects will be those with 3+ years experience. Candidates with less than that will struggle due to the enormous amounts of locally qualified junior lawyers who have fallen victim to the GFC over the last 12-18 months.
Looking further afield, the bottom has dropped out of the offshore markets completely. A search this morning on Seek for jobs in the Cayman Islands turned up one job and there is not one job being advertised for the Channel Islands. Compared to 2 years ago, this is an astonishing drop off in demand. Judging by what I have heard, it will take a very long time indeed for these markets to pick up from a recruitment point of view. The current economic crisis has fundamentally affected these economies and until these jurisdictions work out what place they now occupy in the economic world, opportunities in these island paradises will be very scarce.
The Middle East seems to be at an interesting juncture at present. It had the most spectacular fall from grace of all as dozens and dozens of lawyers were retrenched or made redundant. The simple fact is that the whole region was massively overlawyered and when the work dried up, there was very little for anyone to do. It is very doubtful that the Middle East region will ever be quite so attractive as it was a few years ago but it is showing some signs of recovery.
Some of the larger firms in the region have started undertaking some major projects and have consequently started to look for staff again. The catch is that they are being absolutely inundated with quality applications. However, if the big firms continue to be busy, it is likely that activity among other firms will start to pick up, thus increasing opportunities for lawyers to come back again. How long this takes is anyone’s guess but I would suggest that we are at least 6-12 months away from there being many options for NZ lawyers in the Middle East.
Which leads us on to Asia – the shining light, it seems. My colleagues in Hong Kong say that the place has gone ‘gangbusters’. A lot of this activity has been in the insolvency/restructuring area but they are starting to receive instructions from firms on the look out for corporate and finance lawyers as well. China is obviously behind a lot of this activity and opportunities are opening up in China and surrounding regions as well as in HK.
With every bit of positive news comes the sobering news. Yes, there are positions in Asia but employers are now looking foremost at people with language skills or some ties to the region. It is not to say that it is impossible without either of these but it does make life a lot harder if you don’t speak the lingo or have a particular reason to want to move there.
Finally, to our good friends across the Tasman. The media has painted the picture that Australia is in great shape and is back to normal. Having spoken to people over there, it seems, again, that this is not quite the case. The economy is improving but this has not translated into large numbers of new jobs yet. Yes, firms are starting to recruit again but as in the UK, they are being overwhelmed by the amount of quality applications and are in no rush at all to fill the roles. Locally qualified lawyers are still the most attractive so, even though NZ lawyers can practice over there, Australian employers will still favour Australian lawyers if given the choice.
So, where does all of that leave the NZ lawyer desperate to head offshore? Well in summary, the legal recruitment world is in better shape than it has been since mid 2008. Confidence in the future is up and firms are generally making positive noises about increasing headcount in the coming months. However, at present, competition is fierce, employers are still in control and locally qualifieds still are the most attractive option.
If you can hang on for another 4-6 months, I think that you probably should. However, if you can’t stand it any more and you just have to move, then my advice is to be flexible as to what you will look at, be patient as the process will take a long time and when given the opportunity to attend interviews, make sure that you perform to the best of your ability.
I look forward to looking back (if you know what I mean) at this post at the end of 2010 and comparing how things are like then to what they are like now. It will be an interesting comparison!!!