Cypress Recruiting Group: The Times they are A-Changin'

Cypress Logo.JPG[Ed. note: This post is authored by Ash Kalb and Dawn Robertson of Cypress Recruiting — an ATL advertiser. Cypress is the first and only US-based legal recruiting firm to specialize exclusively on law firm and in-house placements in the Asia and Middle East legal markets. You can reach them by email: atl(-at-)cypressrecruiting.com.]

An article published in this past Sunday’s New York Times is causing a a bit of buzz in the recruiting industry and amongst lawyers. The gist is simple: go abroad, young man (or woman). That’s where the work is.

Of course, this is not really news. We’ve know it for years: as the domestic legal market continues to underperform (or implode in slow motion, take your pick), the logical destination for the best and brightest legal talent is those markets that are still vibrant and growing, or at the very least not on the verge of imminent failure.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong (not to mention Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Doha, Riyadh and a host of other cities) may seem far-flung to the Times, but not to Cypress. For nearly eight years, Cypress Recruiting has been placing attorneys in in Asia, and more recently, in the Middle East. In fact, Cypress was the first U.S. firm to focus on these markets, and is still the only one that focuses on them exclusively; these markets are all we do.

As the Times notes, the credit crunch has resulted in a flood of applicants who might never before have considered looking abroad for the next stage of their career approaching the top offices in the Middle East and Asia. As the volume of applications these offices see goes up, their standards follow as a matter of course. This means that while these markets continue to represent some of the best opportunities out there for attorrneys, it is getting harder and harder for an applicant, no matter how qualified or distinguished, to get in the door.

More after the jump.


While each of the markets Cypress Recruiting services has its own unique benefits and challenges, there is one thing they all have in common: relationships matter. Relationships matter a lot, as do experience and track record, especially as more and more resumes pile up on the desks of hiring managers and recruiting coordinators.

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Lately, as the direction the financial and legal markets both in the U.S. and abroad will take in the next few years becomes more and more evident, many recruiters have joined us in servicing Asia and the Middle East. They have figured out what we have known for quite a while: the opportunities for U.S. and U.K. qualified attorneys in these markets are extraordinary and exciting, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

Of course, we’ve known that all along. Cypress has built a business on this knowledge, and on the relationships we have forged in Asia and the Middle East as a result of it. Our track record and reputation in these markets proves it. It’s the reason that over 80% of our candidates come to us through referrals, and the reason we are able to make the placements we make.

What makes Cypress unique is that we are not a firm that does Asia and Middle East placements on the side, but rather a full team of recruiters entirely dedicated to these markets. Our practice is based on personal relationships with our candidates and the firms and companies at which we place them. These relationships can’t be built through a website, and are especially imperative in the markets in which we operate, and when making a move overseas.

If you have the experience and drive to move to one of the markets in which we specialize, we have the experience and expertise to help make that happen. Drop us a line if you would like to talk about it at atl(-at-)cypressrecruiting.com, or go to cypressrecruiting.com to learn more about us and what sets us apart.

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