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Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past five years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com

Happy Chinese New Year! We were extremely busy the past few months, including most of our US based team working from our Hong Kong offices during November and December.

As a follow up from our recent post, which listed our 62 US associate and counsel placements in Asia last year (vast majority in HK / China), please note that thus far in January ’12, we have already made seven US associate and counsel placements in Asia. This is an especially impressive number, considering the biglaw lateral hiring market in Asia is down right now (see state of the market brief overview below). These new placements are of new hires in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, who were interviewing with their new firm for a month or more and they are spread out among different practice areas, including project finance, litigation, fund formation, M&A and cap markets. We are close on four additional new associate placements, in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, that we expect to close soon. We do not discuss partner placements in these articles, but the pace of partner recruitment in Asia (a large part of our business) has continued.

Hedge Fund In-House Openings in Hong Kong

We are seeing a small run of new in-house openings in Hong Kong at hedge funds. We are currently filling three different in-house positions at three different hedge funds in Hong Kong, two of these searches we are handling on an exclusive basis. All three will most likely be filled by a US associate, with about 4 to 6 years of experience. Mandarin not required. Candidates from NYC and London will be considered, but at one of these funds the new hire will likely come from Hong Kong / China or Singapore (with HK being the strong preference).

Please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com if you are interested in these hedge fund openings. As you probably would expect, the competition for these spots will be fierce and the funds will be very selective when choosing which candidates to interview.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The Asia Chronicles: In-House Openings at Hedge Funds In Hong Kong / State Of The Market / 7 New Kinney ’12 US Associate Placements In HK / China”

The recruiters at Lateral Link are working hard to fill positions with Am Law 200 firms and Fortune 500 companies throughout the nation. Today’s Job of the Week, provided by Lateral Link, presents a great opportunity for an Executive Compensation Associate at a top firm in the Silicon Valley. If you’re looking to live and work in a region buzzing with news in the high-tech world, this might be a great opportunity to consider.

Position: Executive Compensation Associate

Description: A top firm in Mountain View, CA is seeking an executive compensation associate to join its practice. Candidates should have at least one year of experience and be admitted to the CA bar.

Location: Silicon Valley

This opportunity is brought to you by Lateral Link Director Lexy Tretter, a recruiter covering Northern California. To apply for this opportunity or other opportunities, please register at www.laterallink.com. You can also reach out to Lexy directly via email at ltretter@laterallink.com. If you are a Lateral Link member already, see position #10784, or contact your recruiter for more details.

Whether you’ve been out of school one year or five, the art of time maintenance is one you shouldn’t ignore. Just like the balance between your personal and professional life should be important to you, you should also work to keep your law firm schedule and work habits as balanced as possible.

Following the pace of a law firm, its partners, and its clients as a former law student might be difficult at first, but time will show you what you’re made of, as hard work and perseverance pays off if you want to make it in the world of Biglaw….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: How You Should Manage Your Time”

We’d like to take a moment to thank our wonderful advertisers here at Above the Law:

If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking Media network, please download our media kits, or email advertising@breakingmedia.com. Thanks!

This week, Lateral Link Director Tricia McGrath shares the inside scoop on what fifth years need to do to make sure they stay on track to become partner, and avoid the pitfalls that come with being passed over continually.

Law firm economics changed substantially over the past decade. Law firms now run like “businesses,” in corporate America parlance. In the last few years, many associates at top firms who thought that they were “on track” for partnership were unexpectedly passed over. Unfortunately, market conditions suggest that many more will be passed over in future years.

As a recruiter, I frequently speak with senior associates who were on the wrong side of partnership decisions, and as a result, realized the “out” side of the firm’s “up-and-out” policy. Many of these overlooked associates are now wondering how the train went off the track so quickly. Don’t the years of solid billables and strong reviews account for anything? For most of these associates, their best-case scenarios are a new position at another Biglaw firm with a three-year partner look — often going in to their new firm as a fifth or sixth year — or an in-house position at significantly less compensation (in most cases). Often, neither of these options is particularly attractive for the candidate.

How can you protect yourself from becoming a senior associate who has been passed over, has no business, and has limited job prospects?

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: For Fifth Year Associates, It’s Decision Time”

Lateral Link Director Julie Locke is currently working closely with leading firms throughout California searching for labor and employment attorneys. Labor and employment is one of the hottest areas across the country, and one of the top firms in the U.S. is seeking a labor and employment associate. The recession has led to a bigger demand for this specialty, so if you’re skilled and interested, read on for this week’s Job of the Week, provided by Lateral Link.

Position: Labor & Employment Associate

Description: A top law firm has an immediate opening for a mid-level (minimum 3-5 years of experience) L & E associate. Those with experience working in a labor & employment practice at a top firm are preferred, but the firm is open to commercial litigators with labor & employment experience who would like to focus in the practice area.

Location: Los Angeles, CA

This opportunity is brought to you by Julie Locke, Lateral Link recruiter covering California. To apply for this opportunity or other opportunities, please register at www.laterallink.com. You can also reach out to Julie directly via email at jlocke@laterallink.com. If you are a Lateral Link member already, see position #10906. Still interested in the position, but not the location? We have a number of other L&E openings nationwide, so contact us for more details.

It’s Friday, let’s play a game. A word search. Guess the URL for entertainment lawyer Roger A. Pliakas, Esquire.

Hint: Sean Connery would take therapist…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Lawyer URL of the Day”

Lateral Link Director Scott Hodes gives his assessment on one of the nation’s hottest lateral markets in recent years.

Florida has continued to represent one of the most active states in the country in terms of hiring. 2011 saw a resurgence of positions in almost all areas, which is good news for 2012 and beyond.

Litigation positions represented an overwhelmingly large portion of the lateral market, with corporate positions making up the next largest group of lateral opportunities….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: State of the Market – Florida”

This week, Lateral Link Director Scott Hodes gives us some insight into the increase in lateral hirings in the Empire State of the South.

Atlanta has emerged as one of the best lateral associate markets in the country. While 2009 was slow as in most markets, 2010 signaled a comeback, and 2011 confirmed the upward trend.

Corporate and litigation positions represented the largest amount of lateral openings, which is fairly typical in large markets. Corporate positions seemed to peak in the second and third quarters, while litigation was fairly steady throughout the year. There was also a huge boom in intellectual property positions, especially in the last three quarters, followed not too far behind by labor and employment, which remained steady throughout 2011….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: State of the Market – Atlanta”

As the snow starts to fall in most parts of the country, Floridians are practicing their golf swing and spending weekends at the beach. But it’s not just the weather that’s hot. The legal market is on fire as well. Read on for the latest Job of the Week provided by Lateral Link.

Our Lateral Link Southeast Director, Scott Hodes, is currently working closely with the top firms in the region to fill junior and mid-level positions in Health Care, Corporate, Trusts & Estates and Real Estate, among other practice areas, and all levels of Litigation. Now is definitely the time to make the move down South!

One of the hottest areas right now is Health Care, and one of the top firms in the country is looking to add a Health Care associate at either the junior, mid or senior level.

Position: Health Care Transactional / Regulatory Associate

Description: Experience in assisting health care companies and private equity funds with health care investments in connection with all of their health care transactional, corporate and regulatory needs. An understanding or experience with the Stark law, fraud and abuse laws, anti-kickback laws and state licensure laws would be a plus.

Location: Miami, Florida

This opportunity is brought to you by Scott Hodes, Lateral Link recruiter covering Florida, Atlanta, Charlotte and other parts of the Southeast. To apply for this opportunity or other opportunites, please register at www.laterallink.com. You can also reach out to Scott directly via email at shodes@laterallink.com. If you are a Lateral Link member already, see position #10391 (junior), position #9266 (mid), and position #9267 (senior), or contact your recruiter for more details.

As mentioned previously, these State of the Market posts by Lateral Link, as compiled by Director Gary Cohen, will focus on one of the country’s largest states — Texas.

The strongest market in Texas is Houston, with some of the strongest candidates being those with corporate, capital markets, or finance experience. A close second is Dallas, and a distant third in terms of strong markets in the Lone Star State is Austin….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: State of the Market – Texas (Part 3)”

We’d like to take a moment to thank our wonderful advertisers here at Above the Law:

If you’re interested in advertising on Above the Law or any other site in the Breaking Media network, please download our media kits, or email advertising@breakingmedia.com. Thanks!


In 2009, a small group of Harvard Law School students noticed an absurd monopoly in the bar prep space, held by an unchallenged leader with a non-evolving product. In response, these students teamed up with Harvard Law alumni to launch BarMax on January 14, 2010.

The mission: democratize bar prep by embracing new technologies to provide the very best bar exam review courses at a fraction of the cost normally associated with these courses.

Since then, with the encouragement of thousands of students and an unwavering commitment to their success, BarMax has established itself as a comprehensive alternative to the stagnant, over-priced status quo.

As we continue to expand, we do not want to lose sight of the basic premises that led us to create BarMax in the first place. If you are a law student who believes that there is something fundamentally wrong with being forced to take out yet another loan to pay for a $4,000 bar exam prep course, you are not alone.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The BarMax Manifesto: “We Are Not Sheep””

As mentioned previously, the next few State of the Market posts by Lateral Link, as compiled by Director Gary Cohen, will focus on one of the country’s largest states — Texas.

The strongest market in Texas is Houston, with some of the strongest candidates being those with corporate, capital markets, or finance experience. A close second is Dallas, which is also the focus of this post….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: State of the Market – Texas (Part 2)”

Today’s Job of the Week is an exciting and unique opportunity for a bright and talented individual to switch out of the law and join a dynamic, fast-paced, nonprofit charter school network. Lateral Link’s recruiters are looking to fill multiple non-legal positions for this growing company, and if you have experience in or a passion for education, please see below for more details.

Position: Multiple non-legal spots at all levels, in areas including curriculum, people/talent management, and external affairs.

Location: New York, NY

Description: Do you have a passion for education? Have you been considering a move out of the legal profession? We are working with a charter school network based in New York City that is growing at a very impressive pace. They are looking to fill a host of positions, from junior to managing directors. A background in education is helpful, but if you have a serious interest in the field, then it could be a fit. Excellent academic credentials required. Very competitive pay, and plenty of room for growth.

This opportunity is brought to you by Lateral Link Managing Director Ryan Belville. Ryan is a Vanderbilt University Law graduate. To work with Ryan and to apply to this opportunity or other opportunities in his territory, please register at www.laterallink.com and select him as your preferred recruiter. You can also reach out to him directly via email at rbelville@laterallink.com.

What’s the most sure-fire way to make money in a bad economy? Capitalize on the misery of others. As the Kobra Kai taught us, strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir!

Today’s Legal Sweep the Leg Award goes to Kick’em Out Quick, a “One Stop Shop” for tenant evictions and collections based in Ogden, Utah. Kick’em Out Quick is an online marketing company that strives to drum up eviction numbers for member attorneys who pay for the privilege of bearing the Kick’em Out Quick name.

Kick’em Out Quick extends a helping hand to landlords, offering sympathy and understanding of the stresses that these everyday heroes must endure at the hands of nasty tenants. Even better, they help motivated lawyers make money in the process.

When there is blood in the water, the sharks will start circling. Kicking ’em out quick is only the beginning…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Kick ’Em When They’re Down”

The next few State of the Market posts by Lateral Link, as compiled by Director Gary Cohen, will focus on one of the country’s largest states — Texas.

In general, lateral hiring activity in Texas has increased substantially in the past 12 months, with even greater momentum as we head into 2012. Corporate/securities and IP are the busiest major practice areas across the state; however, there are differences between the Dallas, Houston and Austin markets. Overall, the Houston market is the strongest, followed by Dallas, with Austin a distant third. In all markets, partners with solid books of portable business are viable and firms are always on the hunt for new partner-level talent….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: State of the Market – Texas (Part 1)”

Last week, we discussed the end of the legal recession, and we made some predictions about 2012. Many of you were interested in more information on your specific market, so today, we’re launching a new Career Center series: “State of the Market.”

Over the coming weeks, we will discuss hiring prospects in major legal markets based on analysis by Lateral Link‘s recruiting team.

We start with our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Center: State of the Market – Washington, D.C.”


Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past five years. You can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com

The lateral hiring market for biglaw US attorneys has slowed down substantially in the past four months. We at Kinney have been fortunate to have continued a nice run of placements, but even our pace has slowed due to market conditions. We have made 62 placements of US associates and counsels at law firms in Asia in 2011 thus far (the vast majority in Hong Kong/ China and not including partners or in house placements), but 42 of those had come by the end of June. Our pace would have slowed down even further had we not been successful in making a much larger than usual number of fund formation and litigation placements for a four month period.

Please see our list of 2011 Asia placements below:

Skadden – Hong Kong *
Milbank – Singapore*
Shearman – Beijing
Morrison & Foerster – Hong Kong*
Davis Polk – Hong Kong*
Skadden – Shanghai
Skadden – Beijing
Latham – Beijing
Latham – Hong Kong*
Latham – Singapore
Paul Hastings – Hong Kong *
Simpson Thacher – Hong Kong*
Ropes & Gray – Hong Kong
*
Ropes & Gray – Shanghai*
Orrick – Hong Kong
Orrick – Beijing
Clifford Chance – Singapore*
Clifford Chance – Hong Kong
A&O – Hong Kong*
Proskauer Rose – Hong Kong
Baker & McKenzie – Hong Kong
Freshfields – Hong Kong
Shearman – Hong Kong*
White & Case – Singapore
Linklaters – Singapore
O’Melveny – Shanghai*
Skadden – Singapore
Vinson & Elkins – Shanghai
CWT – Beijing
Debevoise – Hong Kong*
Kirkland & Ellis – Hong Kong*
Kirkland & Ellis – Shanghai*
Gibson Dunn – Hong Kong
White & Case – Beijing
Kobre & Kim – Hong Kong*
Shearman – Singapore
Hogan Lovells – Tokyo
Freshfields – Tokyo
* denotes multiple placements at the firm in question.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The Asia Chronicles: KINNEY’S 62 US ASSOCIATE PLACEMENTS IN 2011 THUS FAR IN ASIA / STATE OF MARKET”

Do you secretly wish you could escape the rat race, grow a handlebar mustache, hang out in coffee shops, and live in flannel shirts? If so, check out the latest Job of the Week provided by Lateral Link — it’s your chance to move to Portland and be a professional attorney by day, and hipster by night.

Position: Corporate Associate

Description: A top, national firm with a large presence in the Pacific Northwest is seeking to hire a corporate associate with 2-3 years of experience. The successful candidate must have experience with corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt financings, and securities laws.

Location: Portland, OR

This opportunity is brought to you by Lateral Link recruiter, Danielle Massari. To apply to this opportunity or other Portland opportunities, please register at www.laterallink.com. You can also reach out to Danielle directly via email at dmassari@laterallink.com. If you already are a Lateral Link member, see position #9898, or contact your recruiter for more details.