Robert here. It has been a solid past few months for us in HK / China and Singapore. Here is a list of our very recent placements in 2011. We also are in the process now of making numerous additional Asia placements (outstanding offers with our candidate likely to accept). Further, please note that this list does not include the several in-house and partner level placements we have made in Asia this year. We also have represented numerous associates who had offers but transferred within their own firms to Asia. Even these situations are successes when they allow our candidates to make an informed decision.

* – denotes 2 or more 2011 placements in the office

Skadden – Hong Kong *
Milbank – Singapore
Davis Polk – Hong Kong
Latham – Beijing
Latham – Hong Kong
Latham – Singapore
Paul Hastings – Hong Kong *
Simpson Thacher – Hong Kong
Ropes & Gray – Hong Kong
Ropes & Gray – Shanghai (soon to be opened office)
Orrick – Hong Kong
Orrick – Beijing
Clifford Chance – Singapore
Clifford Chance – Hong Kong
A&O – Hong Kong
Proskauer Rose – Hong Kong
Baker & McKenzie – Hong Kong *
Freshfields – Hong Kong
Shearman – Hong Kong
White & Case – Singapore
Linklaters – Singapore
O’Melveny – Shanghai
Skadden – Singapore

Many of the placements listed above represent great launching pad opportunities for our candidates and many did not happen quickly or without great effort on our part. We don’t simply email resumes to a list of firms and hope for the best, as do many so-called recruiters. Our placements are in most cases the result of informing the candidate on their target market for months before they begin a job search and our traveling back and forth between Asia markets and US markets in order to meet with both US associate candidates and partners at their target firms.

This is why it is easy, for example, for us to provide you with 100+ references of US associates we have placed in the past several years in Asia, persons who are more than happy to recommend our services if you smartly seek such references.

Or you can go with the random headhunter cold calling you because you have an Asian name and he is armed with a list of firms, recruiting coordinator email addresses, and some very basic market info gleamed from this blog most likely (and the requisite tall tales about how he just met with the relevant hiring partner last week, blah blah blah). Just last week one of our candidates told us that a recruiter we know of (we’ll call her Justine) had claimed to have just been in the office of a certain well regarded Magic Circle firm partner. That partner, according to Justine, said he needed just the sort of lawyer as our candidate. The story sounded funny, because of other things we know, so we checked with the partner. He happens to be someone we have known a long time, ever since we recruited him as an associate for a private equity general counsel position he did not accept. Needless to say, the Magic Circle firm partner had never heard of this recruiter.

Don’t forget that your resume can be a lucrative asset for recruiters. In a strong market, a recruiter who knows absolutely nothing can make a small fortune with a laptop and a phone if he has the right CV’s. By all means recognize that this is the case and be careful about whom you entrust your resume and job search to. Once a recruiter submits your resume at firms in Asia, that recruiter “owns” your candidacy for at least 6 months. If all you are looking for is resume email service and you don’t care whether your recruiters add real value to your search (again, check their recent past placements in your target market, because that is where they get the data), then there is no need to contact us here at Kinney. Actually, in that case, we suggest you simply email firms yourself (why would you need a recruiter to simply mass email your resume?). But if you are looking for true representation in the market, to be fully informed in the market, and have a professional advocate / agent pushing for you with the relevant partners at the best fit firms for you in Asia (for months if need be), then we look forward to speaking with you. Drop us a line any time at .