Robert here. Apologies for the delay in getting this post up. I just returned Tuesday from a few weeks of hectic work travel – Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York – and have been slammed the first couple of days back in the office. It was the typical non-stop meetings for 16 days (with both candidates and firms), plus I also made a few associate placements in HK (two M&A and one cap markets) earlier this month.

We are representing a large number of both US associate and partner candidates in Asia now, especially in HK / China, and our entire team is being kept quite busy. Robert and I traveled to Hong Kong the past couple of weeks mainly in order to help some of our partner candidates pitch their skill set and books to their target firms, as well as help firms attract key partner additions they need.

I plan to return to HK / China later this summer for a longer six week trip, as well, after a short Dubai trip.  Yuliya is in Russia all summer working in that market (things are starting to pick up deal flow wise in Russia, but it will be a while before firms there start hiring again).

We have a few urgent associate openings right now in HK / China (many more slower moving openings, but these are the most urgent):

1) 5 to 10 years cap markets US associate / counsel, fluent Mandarin, Hong Kong
2) 7+ years energy / project finance US associate / counsel, fluent Mandarin, Hong Kong / China
3) 4 to 7 years PE / M&A associate, Mandarin preferred, Hong Kong
4) 7+ years IP / TMT (litigation and transactional experience needed) associate / counsel / junior partner, Mandarin fluent, Hong Kong

There are particularly good career advancement / partner track opportunities at the above four positions and they all pay top market NYC pay, bonus and top market expat packages for HK. The cap markets spot is particularly urgent, with a couple of IPOs coming for that group soon and they being a bit understaffed right now. It is a one of the best cap markets practices in the region.

Over the last two weeks in Hong Kong, Robert, Daniel and I met with a number of senior partners of US practices in Asia. There is clearly a lot of cautious optimism due to a pick up in deal flow recently at some firms (not all, but some firms) in HK / China. The key word is cautious, but there is undeniably a buzz in the air in HK that I have not seen since mid ’08. Such optimism and pick up in deal flow at some firms does not translate directly into improvement in lateral US associate hiring in HK / China, but it is a start… It is important to note that while some groups are starting to get very busy, we also met with others that are very slow. It is still a sporadic deal flow in HK / China, but one that is picking up.

It is also important to note that some firms in the market are getting business by discounting their rates substantially and this type of deal flow is not sustainable and also not a practice of the top firms.

Surprisingly, we are starting to see a pick up (not a rebound, mind you, but a pick up) in cap markets in HK / China. There are a few IPO deals coming off hold and some cap markets groups are getting a bit busy. It is the busiest cap markets deal flow I have seen in HK / China and Pan Asia in the past 8 months, although of course that is not saying too much.

For the most part, the better cap markets practices in HK / China have been overstaffed since fall September ’08 and some of those firms are on a hiring freeze globally. Therefore, it will likely be ’10 before there is significant hiring by the strongest cap markets practices in Asia. However, in the past few weeks we have seen a small surge in US cap markets openings in HK / China (mid to senior levels). Now, much more than a month or two ago, it is possible for the most highly qualified mid-level to senior cap markets associate to land a solid new position in the China markets. The most sought after candidates will be from Wall St. and other top US firms in HK / China, plus the US practices of magic circle firms there. Fluent Mandarin cap markets associates from NYC will also be considered.

Some M&A practices are quite busy (and some or not, as it depends which groups are getting the sporadic big deal flow that this is there). We expect to make a number of more M&A mid-level placements this year and expect a couple to happen in the next month. The M&A deal flow has coming from China mainly but also Pan Asia.

Korea practices in Asia seem to be particularly busy (there is very little hiring going on in these practices, due to most being in offices that are overall not so busy), including securitization, project finance, cap markets and M&A work.

Project finance / energy practices are relatively busy and some of these groups are slammed, but I find they usually hire slower than other areas, even in the hot markets. Also, some of these groups are within firms that are on a hiring freeze. The most impressive senior project finance / energy associate candidates could be placed this year or early ’10, if the overall market starts to pick up more.

Keep in mind that for US associate lateral market in Asia to pick up substantially, there will not only need to be a deal flow rebound in Asia, but also in the US. As long as the US markets are down, there will be an overflow of US associate candidates on the market in Asia and also firms will have availalbe their own associates in US to put on projects in Asia. Further, even while some practice areas rebound in Asia, it will take the IPO market rebounding there to remove the problem of a number of very overstaffed offices. Cap markets focused offices in HK / China, for example, may not be able to hire a key mid-level Korea practice associate or M&A associate, for example, if these offices have too many attorneys sitting around not busy.

All in all though, things are looking up and we expect gradual continued improvement in the market throughout the rest of this year. With some luck, by this time next year, the associate lateral market in Asia could be on a full rebound.