Alexis Lamb here, enjoying a balmy spring morning in Hong Kong. Late spring is a mighty fine time to be in Hong Kong and May is one splendid month to be sitting on a junk in the middle of the South China Sea with 30 of your closest friends and a seabreeze in hand. Fortunately for all you Asia-minded US litigators, the number of boats in the harbor isn’t the only thing that’s increasing as the temperatures rise. Litigation opportunities in Hong Kong for US-qualified attorneys have tripled since last fall! Want a piece of the action? Read below…
WHAT KIND OF LITIGATION CAN A U.S. LAWYER DO IN ASIA?
The most “popular” forms of litigation are commercial litigation, arbitration, internal investigations, and civil and criminal government investigations, particularly FCPA litigations. However, an attorney need not have experience in FCPA/white collar investigations to land out here. The hiring partners are adamant that any litigation experience fits the bill and they are more than happy to “retool” an associate to the specific kinds of litigation that their office focuses on.
WHAT SKILLS DO I NEED TO LAND IN ASIA?
Successful applicants will have the three following traits, in order of importance. (1) Business fluency in Mandarin, (2) litigation experience gleaned in a top “biglaw” or elite litigation boutique environment and (3) top grades from a top law school (JD preferred). As a rough benchmark on point 3, I’d say that if you graduated with honors/top 25% from a top 20 law school you’re competitive. Mandarin fluency is the most important criterion. Firms won’t even interview applicants who were top 1% in their top 10 law school classes and had spot-on-point litigation experience because they were English-only. No matter how awesome you are, your resume will not even be looked at if you do not speak business level Mandarin.
Why are firms so strict on the language requirement? Part of the job out in Asia is conducting witness interviews, depositions, and other fact-finding operations in an Asian language, often Mandarin. If you have this experience, you will be a very competitive candidate so put it on your resume! One hiring partner told me that Mandarin is used nearly every day on cases – not just in casual conversation. It’s not enough to be able to shoot the breeze for 5 minutes with clients before a meeting. Your Mandarin must be good enough to pick up nuance in a witness interview or deposition, or translate diligence documents.
Tags: Asia | Hong Kong
