Interesting article posted on the JD Journal website . Literally the first thing we’ve found in print that shows that law firms working in China aren’t immune to the global slowdown..
They write:
What’s Really Happening on the Ground in China? [Update]
Wed, Dec 10, 2008
JDJournal’s A. Harrison Barnes just emailed me:
I just spoke with a candidate from the China office of a large US firm, and was told that “corporate practices are VERY slow in Hong Kong and Shanghai, despite what you are reading on blogs. Firms are slow and laying capital markets associates off. In short, the reality in China is much different than what the blogs are telling people.” [Of course, he was clearly referring to Kinney’s Asia Chronicles on ATL]
Asia Chronicles is a series of posts on the Above The Law blog by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, an ATL advertiser. While the latest post admits that “associate hiring is falling significantly” in Asia, the series, while informative about issues like expat allowances and taxes, contains what are basically advertisements for legal jobs in Asia (and using Kinney Recruiting to find one).
Also, this New York Times article from November, entitled “Lawyers Wanted: Abroad, That Is,” reports that “lawyers and analysts say that the most promising places for legal careers are such far-flung locales as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.” But are they really?
UPDATE:
Harrison has since spoken to two recruiters who confirm that qualified candidates are having a rough time finding positions in East Asia and the United Arab Emirates, two regions that are supposedly hungry for new associates.
http://www.jdjournal.com/2008/12/10/whats-really-happening-on-the-ground-in-china-update/
Interestingly we’d also read the Kinney’s Asia Chronicles post earlier this week and decided not to talk about their piece in which they suggest that the market is still fairly healthy – gossip in HK says otherwise.
That said .. we should at least provide you with a link
http://abovethelaw.com/2008/12/the_asia_chronicles_fish-head.php
