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Lawyers Seeking Opportunities Overseas
In a waning economy, lawyers looking for new employment horizons might be advised to look across the horizon -- literally. Because as Legal Blog Watch's own John Bringardner writes in the New York Times, overseas markets are the new land of opportunity for lawyers.
Back in the gold rush days, law firms had a tough time selling lawyers on locales like Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Hong Kong. But now all that's changed, and recruiters are finding plenty of lawyers
willing to travel halfway around the world for a job. Because of increased interest in overseas positions, firms can afford to be choosier about who they hire, and also stingier with their incentives. For example:
When Kirkland opened its Hong Kong office in 2006... it was hard to complete its hiring locally. American and British firms there were willing to make candidates the kind of fantastic offers they’d rarely see at home. “Two years ago I saw third-years asking to be made partners,” David Eich [a Kirland partner] says. “With the market crash we immediately felt the inflection of that. These days I see partners happy to take a salary adjustment for their circumstances.”
Still, going overseas isn't just a way to bide time while the economy recovers. Many lawyers are embracing the overseas alternative as an opportunity to build a practice at a time when there's not much going on at the office at home. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant on November 24, 2008 at 11:23 AM | Permalink
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