4:47 sums it up nicely.

TTT

Kinney Recruiting, which has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past two years, is the sponsor of this post.

wow. useful. unbiased.

You never answered the fundamental question of why a recruiter is necessary.

Also, why can't somebody put together a list of the top US/UK firms in Asia? I know the authors claim they can't for whatever reason, but somebody must know something.

I just placed an associate in Davis Polk's Hong Kong office and the candidate had offers from three other top firms as well. Kinney is adding a bunch of smoke and mirrors to the process because they like to annoint themselves experts trying to create an artificial barrier to entry. Many searches in Asia are run through the Ny branch of law firms and you don't need to have done 10 placements in Asia to be a good recruiter in Asia. The process can take months or it can take just a few weeks - like any other placement. Also, many firms do not require ANY travel; rather they run the interview process through conference calls and videoconferencing in the NY office. Having partner contacts is of course helpful (but not required for "solid" candidates whose paper speaks for itself), but no different in any city. Its not a unique concept to Asia. How much time does a recruiter spend in Asia?! Who cares. its irrelvant and once again smoke and mirrors. I have placed attorneys in 15 cities/countries worldwide and it seems to work perfect without flying to Beijing once a month. In terms of getting practice focus, check a website, partner bios and chambersandpartners.com. The reality is that someone should use a particular recruiter if they trust the recruiter to not slam them into a bad job and that recruiter knows how to build leverage for them. A lot of the other stuff is fluff and b.s.

I do believe that 5:13 just pooped in Kinney's hat.

"Having partner contacts is of course helpful (but not required for "solid" candidates whose paper speaks for itself)."

You sound like a resume blaster.

Why does one need to send a junior/mid-level top 5 law firm attorney to the head of a practice in Hong Kong? Wouldn't it be better to send it to the RC? Most recruiters who claim to send to partners at the associate level are LYING - most send to RCs and maybe cc a partner. Considering there are tons of firms looking in HK and i sent my candidate to only 4 firms total (where she got three offers), i think I did OK. Also, resume blasting means that you take a resume and send it many firms; it has nothing to do with whom you send it to at a firm.

In the absence of a personal recommendation, and all things being equal, I would go with a recruiter that advertises on ATL over one that does not.

I don't think that ATL advertisers are necessarily better (or worse) as recruiters. But I appreciate how they make this site possible, with their advertising money.

yeah it does, because the fewer real connections you have, the more you need to spread that resume all over town hoping it will stick somewhere.

ABOVE THE LAW- Legal Tabloid and Advertising Whore-

what a jerk off fest this site has become for Kinney and Lateral Link. Oh, and recruiters are useful to provide you with information that isn't fluff from a firms web site, to tell you why a position is open, and to steer attorneys away from shitty firms.

As the hiring partner at a major firm in HK, I can assure you that Kinney is the best of all the recruiters I have dealt with. They send me the best candidates without fail. I basically ignore other recruiters.

5:28 = hi, david

5.13, Evan here. Congrats on your DPW HK placement. Although it is a bit silly to brag about it, for comparison sakes, this week I have made 4 placements in HK (Cleary, Allen Overy, and 2 at Weil). I also have multiple placements in past year at DPW HK. Please keep on just sending resumes through NYC admin. I prefer to email / call the relevant partners in Asia. Sure, you can always place stellar candidates in Asia that way. But how can you advise on which of the 4 offers your recent placed candidate should take? What advice could you give re the partners he / she would be working for? Honestly, recruiters like you have such a sense of entitlement and is a big reason why the industry has a bad rep. Sure, you have a great sales pitch I am sure to get resumes and then you just blast them around. Most of my Asia candidates don't need me or any other recruiter to simply find a solid law firm job in Asia. However, we at Kinney provide a lot of value to their job search by helping them decide which firms to target and which offer to take. We don't simply blast resumes around to the NYC, London or other headquarters' recruiting departments. Also, pro-active trips to Asia are a great way for a candidate to confirm their decision on which firm to choose, as well as have additional opportunities and consolidate all the offers they can get in a one or two week period. I suppose you don't care about any of that and just push your candidate to accept the first offer that comes along. You get paid after all and that is what is important to you. Further, many of our candidates wait a year or longer to start a job search in Asia. It is a big decision after all and we are happy to educate our candidates on the market while they are simply considering whether to make such a move. Keep up the good work though...

sounds like you work with crappy candidates and you need to "sell" them to partners. i try to work with candidates with good grades from good firms, where, guess what - they get interviews almost everywhere they get sent. stop adding smoke and mirrors and pretending. i'm sure you have partner connectiosn in every group at every firm in every city that you sned to. you probabably know between 10-50 partners total that you might send to at the associate level. go sell someone else....kinney in disguise.

hiring partner, are you still at the office at 5:30am local time? boy, that makes me want to work in HK.

Gee whiz Mr HK Hiring Partner, surfing ATL at 5:30 am. Awesome!

Anyone more than a year out of LS knows that recruiters generally suck. Over 90% of them are pigs who just want your resume so they can blast it off to 50 firms and hope that one bites. I've actually worked with "prominent" recruiting firms like Major Lindsey and BCG and they have taken my resume, forwarded it off, and then I literally never heard from them again. I'd have to email them to find out I'd been rejected everywhere. I've had only one good experience with a recruiter and I only use her because I feel sorry for her since she's so nice and professional in an industry full of BS-talkers like Kinney. Recruiters are a waste. If you want a job just go on firm websites and send in your resume, most of them post openings online. This is especially true for Asian openings I would assume since firms there want certain definable traits i.e. Chinese language skills, top 14 law school, corporate experience in NYC. I hate recruiters who think they are great because they place a cum laude Harvard law grad at Davis Polk. A freaking retard corn farmer in Idaho could do that.

I've personally made 80 placements in 3 years and my candidates seem to be very happy with their moves. You make it like getting info about a firm or partners is a difficult task that only Kinney can do or that computers and phones have not bene invented yet, so one needs to fly to Asia. Its called doing research and legwork and i'm pretty sure everyone can do it if they want to. You assume that everyone but you is bad because you said so based on artificial criteria. i dont slam folks into jobs and most of my placements are referalls so i guess I'm doing something right, no? is it me or can others smell this advertisment listed as journalism.

5:41-maybe your credentials stink so you need to be sent to many firms; maybe your recruiter sucked, who knows. I'd liek to see you build leverage for yourslef, extend deadlines, push for signing bonuses without a recruiter. thats what we do. you're right - a monkey could place a harvard cum attorney, as long as that monkey beats out 500 otyher recruiters to have the privelige of working with that person. (please ignore 80 million spelling errors :))

@ 5:13--any luck placing associates in Dubai? If so, I'd like to talk.

5.23, Evan here. Yes, you did ok. It is all about you after all. Who cares if you really know what you are doing? Yes, while in NYC it is most efficient and usually required to go through RCs (I agree that most recruiters lie about contacting partners in NYC), in HK and Asia most firms don't have recruiting departments and I much prefer to go through the partners there. Also, regarding other 5.34 comment about my candidates' qualifications, I provide value to the job searches for the top 5 law school, top 5 firm types, as well as all other types of candidates that seek positions in Asia. I don't turn away candidates simply becaue their resumes, alone, do not guarantee them a quick offer in HK or elsewhere. None of my candidates are "crappy", but then again I don't have the sense of entitlement that you do when you are only wanting to represent those that can be placed with an email or two of their resume. Maybe that is why I make 7 figures annually and you are so excited about your one placement this week :-) And yes, I have a big ego and yes, I am damn good at what I do.

Evan, you are right, it is silly to brag about making 4 placements this week. It's also a little hard to believe. If you are making 4 placements a week, Kinney must surely be making $200K per week just from you. Not a bad living. You're all talk, no action.

5:48pm -we are actually placing associates there now. to be honest, we work more with US based firms hiring there and a few of the big London boys. Local London firms Like Simmons, not quite as much. Its actually crazy over there with some firms looking to bring on 10-15 associates. You're probably looking at a 3 year time commitment though (maybe two at select firms). Check out King & Spalding, A&O, Clifford Chance, Lovells, Baker Botts, Freshfields and others (Patton Boggs, V&E, Shearman, Reed Smith, Gibson, Fulbright, DLA, Chadbourne, Bracewell - on an opportunistic basis). Latham and Hogan are getting/just got there. I heard Kinney is the best. :)

5:48 here. I have done a fair bit of research and would like to make the move--am totally comfortable with a 3 year commitment. How can I get your contact information?

5.52, Evan here. I don't make 4 placements every week, you are right of course (although I average about 1 a week), but I did make 4 placements in the past week, all in HK., and I did so while I was on a work trip to Moscow (yes we are breaking into that market as well). It is unbelievable to you, I suppose, but you are just a resume pusher after all... Each of the four placements I happened to make in HK this week are the result of months of work, both with the attorneys placed and also with the firms. It is a foreign concept to you I know. Just keep up the good work...

Evan-its funny you make fun of someone for bragging...and then brag. no way you make 7 figures doing the assocaite game - only way you do is if you are an owner (taking a higher percentage on your deals), do partner work as well, have recruiiter underneath you so you're counting that as your deals/income....or you lie. i'll go with lie.

ladies and gentlemen,

if you believe that Evan PERSONALLY places 52 attorneys a year, I have an island i'm looking to sell. its right by NJ. i think its called manhattan or something like that. You now lost all credibility as its clear you fib about your numbers and/or doublecount. nice try jackass.

what sort of specialities are they looking for in dubai?

dubai is civilized unlike the raging flu petri dish that is asia....

Dubai prefers typical corp -M&A, Private equity, securites and/or finance (Islamic wouldnt hurt, but it can be bank finance or project finance :)). structured finance or fund formation not so much. :) Nothing like HK in the summer...98 and humid. but ive never been there...how did i know that?! its called learning.

While this is amusing, none of the recruiters here are making themselves look very good. I'm considering a move to Asia, so I look forward to these posts, but I'm not sure I'm interested in entrusting such a big move to people who get into silly pissing matches on ATL. Unfortunately for you Evan, you're the only one here who's actually using his name. Please stop making me reconsider contacting Kinney.

5.41, Evan here. I agree with you 100% re your opinion of recruiters in general. 99% of them are just resume pushers, have a sense of entitlement, and don't give a damn about their attorney candidates unless a quick buck can be had. One of those 99% has visited the comments area here today, as you can see... I noticed this as a biglaw associate myself years ago, and even more so when I started recruiting. At Kinney we try to do things different and actually provide a service, but we can't change the bad rep that the industry as a whole deserves. There are many really good recruiters out there and of course Kinney does not have a monopoly on all the good ones, but unfortunately the majority of attorney recruiters are just a one - two punch of sales pitch and resume pushing. I suggest that you go with a recruiter that you were referred to by a trusted friend or colleague, rather than listen to sales pitches (including my own). And don't go with a recruiter simply because he placed your friend / colleague (as it may have just been a resume pushing project), but because they can add value to your job search.

5.48, Evan here. I suggest that you contact Steven Holzman at Kinney if you are interested in talking to us about Dubai. I have been there 2 times this year and will be back there for most of September and October (my wife and I like the place, what can I say?), but Steven is our best recruiter for Dubai. The one problem in Dubai is that non US persons don't pay any income tax while working there, so firms are not so crazy about paying nice expat / cola / housing allowances to US persons, due to non US persons not needing such packages (housing is as expensive as HK and more so than NYC) British firms out there will only consider US associates if they are absolutely stellar. Transactional docs in Dubai are drafted in the British style (shorter for one thing) and some partners out there say they prefer British qualified associates over US associates. US firms are easier to break into, but they are filling some of their needs internally (by bringing over associates from their US offices). I would be happy to talk with you about Dubai, regarding living there in general and the basics on different firms and needs out there, but I would refer you to my colleague, Steven, regarding a job search there. There are needs in cap markets, m&a real estate, finance and islamic finance.

My number one concern is whether Kinney can suck and swallow to completion.

Regarding the tax issue, US persons do not pay tax on the first 85k of their salary, and then only pay US federal after that. So, end of day, the government is only taking around 35-40k of a 200k paycheck (much nicer than the 80k they take from me in New York. Also, from my research, I can get a larger apartment for less money than I pay in New York. So, even though the housing there is more expensive than other US cities, it still hasn't caught up to New York. In other words, there are financial benefits to the move. Point being--I wouldn't need a nice ex-pat package to move.

6.49, Evan here. You make some great points re first 86k (it is 86k I think) of no tax and also the apartments being a lot bigger and more luxurious in Dubai than in NYC. Rents at nice places in Dubai will run you around 5k per month though (I am subleasing a 3br apartment there for two months in Sept and October for 9k per month, so it can be expensive if you have kids). Also, even though you will come out ahead financially by moving to Dubai perhaps, it is not as good of a deal financially as HK, for example (where you get 65 - 80k expat / cola / housing), rent is about same (although for smaller apartment) and you only have to pay HK 16/% tax on your first 86k there. But if you prefer Dubai to Asia, then of course no need to consider Asia just for financial benefit. I just make the point because I notice that some US associates seeking lateral moves to Dubai are very dissapointed when offered packages without much, if any, housing / cola / expat package.

I have two years transactional (M&A, project finance) experience at a non-NY V40 firm. Lower T14, top 1/3 grades. Taking language classes (Chinese) in the evening, but have a lot to learn. Am I marketable in asia?

A Q&A session? This is much more interesting

Where's the best city to be based in to do India work (especially private equity and M&A)? I've heard Singapore because it's a short flight to most cities in India but I've been there and it's a bore. Is Dubai picking up in its quantity of India deals?

7.19, Evan here. If I understand you correctly that you graduated from a top 14 law school, with top 1/3 grades, then you can be marketable in the Asia markets. Your Chinese classes don't add anything to your marketability, to be frank. A lot also depends on your personality, leve of maturity, willingness to take on more responsibility, and solid reasons for the Asia move. Top US and British firms in Asia need native English associates just as much as they need native Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, etc. Keep in mind though that it is a very crowded market right now, with many more solid US associate candidates seeking to go to Asia now than was the case in '07. There are just as many openings in Asia as there was in '07, but 4 to 5 times as many qualified candidates on the market, relative to last year. Feel free to call / email me and I would be happy to discuss. evan@kinneyrecruiting.com.

8.09, Evan here. It depends on the firm. Singapore has the highest concentration of India practices, but there are also some great India practices in HK (and most firms with India practice in Singapore, also staffs HK associates on India deals) and I know of a couple major US firm that do a lot of India work out of Dubai. I would be more concerned about the quality of the firm and India practice than location, unless you plan to be abroad for only a few years or so (because within the next few years, US and British firms may have offices in India and that is of course where the India practices will be concentrated. With that said, although I was born in Singapore and like the place, it can be a bit boring from a nightlife / social perspective.

what are the advantages and disadvantages of joining a British firm rather than a US firm?

Evan, how much transactional experience need one have in order to be marketable to the asian firms? Do first years ever make the jump? Or only those with spectacular credentials?

9:26 here -- make that "firms in asia," not asian firms

8.31, Evan here. There are a few US practices, within British firms in Asia, that are just as good of a landing spot as a top 10 US firm in same market. There are pluses and minuses, re general worldwide firm structure and culture, but they differ for each candidate. The biggest difference is in Hong Kong, where the top British firms are much larger offices than the top US firms, but the US practice groups within the British firms are relatively small. The British firms are more established in Hong Kong than the US firms, for obvious reasons. In other Asia markets, the differences in firm sizes is not as consistent as in HK. However, a number of top US firms in HK plan to expand dramatically. My best advice is to focus on the best practice you can get into in Asia, regardless of whether the firm is US or British. And the top British US practices, such as Linklaters for example, will give you great marketability to return to US markets, same as with the top US firms.

9.26, Evan here. It is quite possible to land at a top firm in Asia as a first year associate. For example, in '07 I happened to make 17 class of '06 placements in Asia. However, in '07 there was a real shortage of solid US associate candidates on the market in Asia and some firms hired more juniors than they would have preferred, as they were understaffed and solid mid-level candidates were relatively scarce. With that said, I have placed a number of first year associates in '08, just not at same pace as last year. Please note that a first year's candidacy for an overseas move does not carry the same red flag as if the same candidate was seeking a move in his / her current geographic market. US and British firms in Asia understand that junior US associates today were not necessarily aware in law school of the possibility of beginning their career in Asia. As long as your credentials are good (no different than seeking a position in NYC) and you have good reasons for the move, it can be done. Also, keep in mind that it is much easier for firms to re-tool very junior associates and in many cases there needs to be at least slight re-tooling when making the move to Asia. Most importantly, if you know you want to relocate to Asia it is best to get established there now, rather than simply wait for a couple of years just for the sake of staying at your first firm for a longer period of time. There are of course pluses and negatives to making the move as a first year and I would be happy to discuss with you. Shoot me an email any time....

Thanks a lot, Evan. Could you list the top 10 capital markets practices in HK? I wanna know the best capital markets practices in HK for US associates. thanks.

Evan here. I am happy to answer any more questions re the Asia markets. Keep them coming... I am going to have to wait until tomorrow to continue though. I have an early flight to catch in morning for a meeting in NYC with Skadden's new Asia REIT practice head partner, so am signing off shortly.

6.03, Evan here. Why the vulgar language and animosity? Why don't you call the top US and British firms in the HK and Asia markets if you don't believe what we at Kinney claim about our success there. Here are just a fraction of the many relevant partners / executives that I am sure would speak very highly of Kinney's work for and placements at their firm / company:

Simpson Thacher - Phil Culhane and Youngjin Sohn
Linklaters - Sang Lee
Skadden - Ed Lamb and Mary Schaus (RC)
Cleary - Clay Johnson and David Hirsch
MoFo - Paul McKenzie
Latham - Eugene Lee
Weil - Peter Feist
Kirkland & Ellis - David Eich
Sullivan & Cromwell
CCMP - Simon Bell
Dell - Albert Wang
Sidley - Tim Li

I could add many many more names, but you get the idea... You seem to recruit by the resume email and wait method, whereas we at Kinney put a lot of effort in establishing working relationships / partnerships with our firm clients and providing a true service and value to both our candidate and firm clients.

I have made more placements than 52 in the past 12 months (I realize I said about one per week, but it is quite a bit more than 52 total). I can accomplish this due to the many referals I have coming my way, as well as working hours that are higher than my associate days. Have not made a cold call in years and don't seek resumes, but instead seek attorney clients that are looking for long-term representation.

Evan, just out of curiosity, what's your take on local firms - meaning have you ever placed foreign attorneys at local law firms (e.g. Deacons in HK, King and Wood in the PRC, etc...) and do you see such firms expanding globally anytime soon?

Do any firms ever take lateral partners from the US in Dubai?

What are some of the common reaons (most convincing to firms) for associates going over to work in Asia?

Are these opportunities available from graduates of non t-14 schools such as UCLA/ Vandy//Texas/USC?

Evan,

I am currently a paralegal at a V50 firm's Beijing office and am a rising 1L about to start at a T5 law school. Everything I hear from the attorneys here (both my co-workers and friends at other firms) leads me to believe that it is best to get at least 2 (maybe 3 or 4) years of experience in NY (or at least the US), then make the move to Asia. Those telling me this cite the following -- better mentoring in the US; things are done more "by the book" in US and it is good to learn this way first so one knows how one is deviating therefrom on deals in Asia; provisions are negotiated more carefully by US clients, allowing young attorneys to understand their significance; etc.

Despite hearing all of this, I am still thinking that I may just say "what the hell" and come straight back to China after I graduate. Why? Because I love it here and am willing to forgo the alleged benefits of starting out in the US. So, I was excited to read your comment above regarding starting out in Asia. It sounds like you're saying that someone in my situation should just come straight over after law school, correct? What are your reasons? Are the counter-reasons I listed above invalid or just outweighed by other factors?

Also, I know that summer associate recruiting is not something you deal with, but do you have any idea how possible it is to find summer associate positions out here, i.e. Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. I've heard that OMM and Orrick offer them. Also, are summers out here compensated the same obscene amount that summers in the US are, i.e. ~US$3000/week?

Also, in case it is relevant to answering my questions, I am fluent in Mandarin, spoken and written, to the point where I can converse and read the newspaper easily. But as for reading/translating legal documents, I can only do so slowly and by consulting a dictionary.

And, since Evan probably can't answer questions about specific firms, does anyone know which firms offer summer associatships in their China offices?

2:05, Orrick sucks here in China, OMM is one of the best if not the best in the China game, them and latham + the big brit china shops are the only game in town if you want a top chinese practice.

and yes they pay US rate for summer associates (if you go out to HK they even pay your housing too for the summer), but generally you split with a US office for half the summer, even if you want to start straight out in Asia.

Thanks 2:24. So OMM and Latham. What about Skadden? Didn't they work on the CIC-Blackstone deal? I know that the Vault rankings are not a good guide as to the firms' relative standing in China/Asia. Do you know of another source? (Besides word of mouth) Also, by big British firms, do you mean Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Freshfields?

-2:05

Skadden is more around the second tier in the china practice, they have a very strong IPO/capital market practice in HK, but that's about it. This second rung includes many other US firms such as Paul Hastings, Shearman, etc.

The practice areas vary greatly between firms so you really have to do some leg work, some do almost nothing but service US based clients (Sullivan comes to mind) and some do more 'local like' practice areas and lots of FDI (Baker Mckenzie)

Yes I mean those firms when I say big brit shops, but you forgot Allen Overy, which is actually perhaps the top of the pack (or Linklaters, depending on who you ask).

PS: a few firms I didn't mention that also have strong china practices are White and Case, Jones Day, and Baker Mckenzie, but if you are going to a V5 you should really not consider them becasuse they are shitty places to work.

(2:24)

This post is sponsored by me, who's placed more prank phone calls than any other firm in the last two years.

Evan, why don't you let your ghost writers have a real discussion of who's doing what WITH NAMES so that it is actually of some use to everyone? instead of fishing for emails? you might lose intake in the short run and you gain credibility in the long game.

2:05, I am a summer at one of the above mentioned firms in BJ, sounds like you are in the same shoes I was in just a couple of years ago.

If you are interested leave some way of contacting you and we'll have a beer.

2:05, I am a summer at one of the above mentioned firms in BJ, sounds like you are in the same shoes I was in just a couple of years ago.

If you are interested leave some way of contacting you and we'll have a beer.

2:24, Thanks. Very helpful info. And I second your recommendation to Evan. I have been reading these Asia Chronicles posts for the entire summer hoping to get the kind of info you just gave me.

4:51, I'll be in BJ for a couple more weeks and would love to meet up. Shoot me an e-mail jianxia83 at gmail.

-2:05

The Chambers Asia guide has rankings for overseas firms working in Asian jurisdictions; that'll give people a good idea of which firms are doing the best over there.

@2:24. why does orrick suck in china?

2.24 and 5.04, Evan here. I would love to discuss particular firms with you by phone or email but we just can't do to much of that in a public forum. These are our clients after all and if I were to start ranking firms in a public forum, only the top ranked client would then be happy. It is very much the case that each office of top firms in Asia can have particular practice focus / stregnth and it is important to flesh all this out before deciding which firms to target. It is also true that there are some firms with not so great reputations re work environment, a subject I can't go into detail with in a public forum. But just because you call / email a recruiter for info does not mean you have to work with them. Feel free to contact me any time and I will be happy to discuss whether or not you are looking to move now and whether or not you choose to shoot me over your resume.

This thread has been extremely useful. So few haters! Any way we can keep them out of the other threads as well?

The question answer parts of this thread are much more useful and interesting than the pissing contest about who makes more placements and earns 7 figures. I just wish there were more comments posted by actual attorneys working in Asia than just comments by Evan.

Also, everything I read is about HK or Bejing. What about Tokyo? Is the market there dead?

Hi 9:45 - Hater here. Sorry I'm late. This thread sucks!

Evan, you mentioned a few times that marketability depends in part on "having a good reason to move to Asia." What qualifies? I'm a rising 2L at a T14 school. I am not of asian descent, and have no asian language skills, but I am very interested in the possibility of working abroad. What can I say to hiring partners to convince them I'm serious?

Girls! Play nice!

Orrick got their entire china practice a few years ago by taking on refugees from Coudert Brothers' implosion and has had a hard go at it ever since.

From my impression, that whole firm is schitzo, much like Baker, where the arms are going different directions than the head.

Nice logo though.

(2:24)

Accord, 5:28. I will patronize ATL sponsors when possible- including Kinney.

10.50, Evan here. You don't need to have an ethnic Asia background or have lived in Asia in the past to begin your careeer or eventually make lateral move there. A lot depends on your personality fit with partners you may be interviewing with, as these are small offices. Having international life experience helps. It is important that a junior candidate for Asia offices have a high level of maturity and seem at first impression to be the type of person that can handle a tremendous amount of responsibility. Sometimes interviewees in Asia, no matter how impressive their resume, come across as too academic and stiff (which is not a big problem in NYC large offices, but does not work in busy and small overseas offices). There is much less structure for junior associates there than in NYC and other major western markets, so those juniors that are successful can thrive in a "fly by the seat of your pants" environment, with high learning curve, and one on one mentoring by senior attorneys. Of course, you have to get interviews to be able to make such an impression. Similar to NYC, law school academics trump just about everything else when Asia partners are choosing who to interview. If your law school transcript is stellar, firms in Asia will want you, no different than in NYC. Fluency in Mandarin and other relevant languages can help offset academics a little bit, but not much. If you can't land at one of the summer associate programs at top US firms in Asia, then I suggest doing what you can to land at a major NYC firm and working in cap markets, M&A, or private equity downstream work. Those areas are in most demand.

Evan, what are some of the U.S. firms that do a lot of India work out of Dubai? Not asking for rankings, just to get an idea.

11.05pm, Evan here. Unfortunately I don't have any expertise in placing attorneys at the local firms. That is a different market for recruiting and I suggest you go with a recruiter that is permanently based in Asia. They are all solid firms. However, keep in mind that those firms can pay a lot less than the US and British firms. Some US firms and all British firms have local practices in HK and Tokyo, so if you are locally qualified, you can look into those practices too. Again though, although I work closely with those firms for US associates, I have never placed an exclusively local qualified attorney in Asia.

1.50pm, For one, I know that Vinson & Elkins does a lot of India work out of Dubai, as well as from HK. I will need to look into the issue more before I suggest other firms that do A LOT of India work out of Dubai. Although I have been to Dubai lot this year and may buy a 2nd home there, I am still learning that market. My colleague, Steven Holzman, is our Dubai expert.

Lat, turn Asia Chronicles into a series of Q&A sessions with Evan. This thread has been much more useful than a number of the most recent columns.

Normally what I look for in an asian recruiter is the same thing I look for in all asians. I like the classic beautiful features, a pretty (but not too annoying laugh), a nice manicure, freshened daily, a fairly submissive demeanor, good oral skills, and a very, very grateful look on her face when she swallows, and I mean, like, the sort of look that pilgrims give the pope when he blesses them. The only unique or unusual thing that I look for in my asians is that I like larger breasts than is normal. I don't know how well Kinney fits the bill here, but otherwise, one is pretty much the same as the other.

Normally what I look for in an asian recruiter is the same thing I look for in all asians. I like the classic beautiful features, a pretty (but not too annoying laugh), a nice manicure, freshened daily, a fairly submissive demeanor, good oral skills, and a very, very grateful look on her face when she swallows, and I mean, like, the sort of look that pilgrims give the pope when he blesses them. The only unique or unusual thing that I look for in my asians is that I like larger breasts than is normal. I don't know how well Kinney fits the bill here, but otherwise, one is pretty much the same as the other.

I agree that the Q&A session with Evan is better than the articles, although they are still helpful as well for those of us interested in moving to Asia.

Evan -

You didn't mention derivatives. Is there any demand for derivatives attorneys in Hong Kong?

5.53, Evan here. Derivatives will most likely be a bigger practice area in HK in the future, but for right now, there are only a few firms that have a strong derivatives practice in HK / China. I have represented some very impressive derivatives US associates seeking to move to HK in the past year, but I have only been able to place a couple of those in a true derivatives practice. Linklaters has a solid deriviatives practice in HK.

interesting relevant post
http://abovethelaw.com/community/2008/07/transfering-to-best-law-school.php#comments