Alexis Lamb here, writing from Singapore to share with you some insights and opportunities that Hong Kong’s lion-faced neighbors to the south have to offer.

NO LANGUAGE SKILLS NEEDED

One of the major advantages in considering Singapore is that language skills are not necessary to get a job, or even live, in Singapore. English is the language of business in Singapore. Lack of language skills will not be a barrier to entry for the attorney who wants to move to Asia and is willing to consider Singapore.

Language skills are not even necessary to conduct daily activities in Singapore. Taxi drivers and other service employees overwhelmingly speak fluent English in Singapore whereas the language barrier is a larger issue in Hong Kong and, to a much larger degree, in mainland China and Japan.

SUPERSTAR GENERALISTS WANTED

A lack of capital markets or private equity experience might restrict a candidate’s marketability in Hong Kong; however it is a non-issue in Singapore. A common request of hiring partners is “We don’t care what they do. They just have to be good.” In other words, a candidate’s practice group is much less important than his academic and law firm credentials as long as such candidate has general transactional law experience.

Why don’t hiring partners care as much about an attorney’s practice area? Singapore is a market of generalists and US practices here cover M&A, private equity, capital markets, and project finance – often in equal parts. While some US teams in certain law firms focus on capital markets transactions (much like Hong Kong), it is just as common for the work in any given US practice to cover a combination of project finance, bank finance, capital markets, M&A, private equity and even a dash of fund formation.

GATEWAY TO SOUTHEAST ASIA

While Hong Kong styles itself as either (or all of) a Chinese, Southeast Asian or its own local economy according to which definition might best serve its interests, Singapore exists as a hub precisely because of India and the ASEAN nations. Attorneys will be working on deals out of India, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as deals originating within Singapore.

OPEN POSITIONS

Here are some examples of open positions in Singapore. This is by no means exhaustive, but is illustrative of the most pressing current needs. No language skills required for any of these positions, but all of these firms are looking for the best candidates and if you have not graduated at least with honors from a top 15 law school and have a couple of years’ experience at a top New York “biglaw” practice (or an equivalent market leader, such as Kirkland in Chicago) you will likely not be competitive. Unfortunately, laid off candidates will not be competitive.

-Top 20 US Law Firm seeking a 3rd-4th year US associate. Must have experience in drafting and negotiating primary deal documents as well as with running/supervising a diligence exercise. Background can be private equity, M&A, capital markets or even finance, although preference is for M&A/private equity. Does not matter whether the candidate has a tie to Asia.

-Top 20 US law firm seeking a 2nd-3rd year US associate. Background can be M&A/private equity or capital markets. The senior attorney in charge of hiring is keen on building an “A-team” of superstars to re-grow the office after several recent departures. Strong leadership/promotion opportunities. Ties to Asia are a plus.

-Top 20 US law firm with a focus on project finance is seeking a strong 2nd – 3rd year associate. Practice area unimportant as long as the associate has some of M&A/private equity, capital markets or finance experience. Ties to Asia are a plus.

A LAID-BACK MELTING POT

As Hong Kong bellows boastfully from one end of the South China Sea, Singapore whispers back confidently. One hiring partner compares Singapore to Newport Beach, California. The city is often described as ideal for family-raising, no doubt in part due to its blue, pollution-free skies, but it contains enough stylish spots to grab a cocktail without hearing JOSIE’S ON A VACATION FAR AWAY or fighting through a crowd of 25-year-olds of all ages engaged in various forms of debauch.

Singapore’s zeitgeist can best be illustrated by its cuisine. In many “hawker centers” (street food courts) you can find anything from pig liver curry soup to spicy crab to chicken tikka masala to nasi goreng to good ol’ fried chicken! Looking out from a client’s office, I could spot Indonesia and Malaysia. The influence of Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese, Indian and Western colonial cultures is plainly clear, yet Singaporean diversity avoids the expat/local/mainland Chinese balkanization of Hong Kong.

Singapore is also very close to several vacation “hot spots”. Direct flights are available to Bali (2.5 hours away), Sri Lanka (3.5 hours), and much of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Unfortunately, law firms in Singapore do not offer expat packages as often as their counterparts in Hong Kong and are not as generous. Expat packages range from a low of ZERO to a high of about $35,000, in our experience, for associates. The cost of living in Singapore, while lower than in Hong Kong, is not enough lower to justify such a big difference in expat packages, in our opinion. But of course there are other economic factors in play, as well as a history of having been able to recruit more easily to Singapore than to Hong Kong (prior to the last decade or so). As one point of reference, you might pay about $6,000 per month for a four bedroom detached house in a decent neighborhood. So, if you have a big family, Singapore represents significant savings over Hong Kong.

As always, feel free to contact our Asia team at with any of your Asia-related legal market questions. Be sure and check the Asia Chronicle archives as well, especially for our emphasis on Australia and recent list of Asia-wide open positions in Robert’s article last week.