Opportunity knocks

At that time we were seeing a steady growth in available opportunities across a range of sectors. In the world of financial services, derivatives and structured products, lawyers were in relatively high demand – partly due to necessary replacements of those that had been cut during 2008/9 but also due to growth hires.

In private practice there was a rising need for corporate lawyers, especially those with Hong Kong IPO experience and Chinese language skills. An increasingly buoyant market for M & A and capital markets meant that candidates were beginning to see a return to attractive packages.

Other sectors that were seeing a rise in the need for lawyers at that point were technology, media and telecommunications, where a mixture of replacement and growth hires for increasingly rare skill-sets was pushing up the salaries on offer.

At the time I predicted that we would see a continuing rise in the salaries on offer for those with the most sought-after skill-sets, but without perhaps a return to the days pre-Global Financial Crisis, when lawyers had the luxury of picking and choosing roles and demanding attractive packages.

So, what has become of these predictions? Firstly, the rise in private practice roles which is often a prefix and indicator of a subsequent increase in the in-house roles available, has continued. Law firms are still crying out for lawyers across a range of specialisms, with M & A and capital markets still very highly sought-after. Chinese languages are still highly desirable and for the majority of the roles regarded as essential.

Within the financial services sector, there is still a relatively high demand for derivatives and structured products lawyers and this is still the main area of growth for in-house legal teams.

Towards the end of last year saw an increase in the number of opportunities in-house for M & A and IPO lawyers in banks, MNCs and in investment funds. This primarily seemed to consolidate the needs at that time on the back of a busy year but there are still a number of attractive roles on offer. It is likely these will increase once the varying levels of bonus hit bank accounts at the end of this and next month (February and March).

The issue for any lawyer looking to leave to seek a higher bonus is one of where to go. Very few legal counsel have been dancing in the streets after the announcements and there have been some very disappointed faces throughout the in-house community. There has also been a stricter, more formulated policy within most of the banks of ensuring the best members of legal teams are rewarded from smaller-than-hoped-for bonus pools. This means that lawyers looking to move to more golden pastures will have to choose carefully.

If bonuses are motivating factors then candidates are better off focusing on those banks that have retained relatively healthy balance sheets throughout the last few years and have consistently maintained an attractive discretionary element. These tend to be the more Asian-focused banks and a number of these are in serious growth mode at the moment.

That said, all it takes is one or two resignations to start a domino effect that will lead to a lot of movement over the next couple of months, as tends to be the case at this time of year. There are a number of very strong candidates currently looking pre-emptively and so although there will be some choice of roles, it will also be a competitive market.

In terms of growth of legal teams a number of banks are looking to bolster their in-house offerings this year and a few have very ambitious growth plans that will require extensive legal and compliance support. The frustration a lot of General Counsel face is that of gaining headcount where there is clearly a need. Although in-house lawyers are more cost-effective than external counsel for many aspects and tasks, it is harder to build a case for projected future savings on the legal budget than it is to keep initial costs comparatively low and risk the high private practice bills later on in the year. However, those banks that want to dramatically increase their market-share will need high-quality internal legal support to achieve their objectives.

Another area of growth prevalent last year was that of compliance and regulatory risk. There has continued to be a high demand in this area for both experienced compliance professionals and also for lawyers wanting to make the move to a more advisory role. With the regulatory framework set to continue to grow as Asia begins to mirror the more cautious approach of the US and Europe those candidates with these kinds of skill-sets are likely to be able to demand attractive packages and positions of responsibility in what is increasingly being viewed as a mission-critical role.

Away from financial services there have been a number of choice roles on offer recently including senior, well-paid roles across a range of different sectors, including IT, telecommunications, media, manufacturing and, for the first time in a few years, real estate. As the cautious optimism of sustainable growth and consumer spending hopefully continues we would expect more opportunities within these sectors to become available.

Overall, my conclusions now are similar to those back in July last year. The market is likely to continue to improve and now is a good time to explore opportunities, especially if you have a rare and marketable skill-set. However, expect to face competition from both existing in-house counsel and the usual influx of private practice lawyers wanting a combination of better lifestyle and greater commercial involvement. The best approach is to remain open-minded in terms of employer and, to an extent, role, as the changing landscape means that exciting opportunities may become available in less traditionally renowned in-house teams.

From an employer’s perspective, especially within financial services, hiring managers need to be aware that if the attraction of a sizeable bonus is no longer on offer, then they may struggle to attract the best in talent. Therefore the traditional cuts in base salary that lawyers take to move out of private practice may have to be reevaluated.

This year is likely to see an increase in movement and in the availability of in-house roles. For both employers and candidates alike, the key will be effective branding and communication of their key selling points. For those conveying the right message the market will offer some very interesting opportunities.

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