Robert here, writing from Tokyo, late Monday night, hoping you are laughing at my attempt at humor above.

So what is the latest on the general lateral market in Asia and the Middle East? Things have not changed much in the past six weeks, with many firms most definitely still interviewing on a fairly regular basis (although several big name firms are in temporary hiring freeze mode in Asia), albeit very selectively, and moving much slower than months ago in making offers. For example, this week I have an ’04 from the West Coast interviewing in Tokyo; an ’07 from NYC interviewing in Dubai; an ’01 from NYC interviewing in HK; an ’06 from NYC interviewing in Singapore; an ’06 from NYC interviewing in Moscow (well, it is Eurasia); an ’06 from HK interviewing in HK; and an’05 from NYC interviewing in HK. Only several months ago, most of these very impressive candidates would have offers in hand on the spot or within a few days of their interview, especially after already being pre-screened by me. Now, offer decisions are typically dragging out two weeks and sometimes much longer. Firms are also having multiple rounds of interviews, with the process continuing when the US based candidate returns home, by VC and / or phone calls (this was rare in the hotter market of earlier this year). Also, on a somewhat related note, we are noticing with our offers that some firms in mainland China and Singapore are wavering a bit on expat / cola / housing packages (offering less than they did earlier this year), but this is not at all happening in HK and Tokyo, where the packages are either the same or going higher (at many firms).

One area of particularly urgent need in the HK / China market is PE / M&A associates with 3+ years for HK and BJ. A few of our top 20 firm clients are looking to fill such spots, so if you feel that you fit the bill, please do feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to go over the details.

I will be in Tokyo all this week and early next, meeting with a number of firms, as well as past placed associates (a bonus in using Kinney for an Asia move is this author showing up in your new market from time to time, unannounced, and convincing you to go out for drinks on a busy work night) and some new prospective or active candidates, before heading back to Hong Kong for a couple of weeks and then Shanghai (photo) for a few days. It is a month in Asia for me, with a side trip at the end to Bali and Jakarta for a little relaxing. Robert is in HK now and will be also be in Tokyo for a couple of days this week, before heading home to Austin (he runs our company, so can’t travel as much as me). Partners at over 30 firms have thus far scheduled meetings with Robert and / or me in HK and Tokyo, so we should have a nice market report to share soon. On a side note, the new Peninsula in Tokyo gets high marks and may be my new favorite Tokyo hotel.

Now I will dwell a bit on what I what I thought would be just another nice but typical firm reception, but was a pleasant surprise… Last Tuesday, Robert and I were privileged to attend a reception in NYC thrown by Paul Weiss in honor of its outgoing chair, Alfred Youngwood, and to usher in its new chair elect, Brad Karp, as the mantle was passed to in a small ceremony of sorts. In attendance were only Paul Weiss partners and clients and some of their other favorite recruiters. While there, it felt in some ways like I had been transported back in time. First, there was not one blackberry in sight for the duration of the event, out of respect, something I thought not possible in today’s day and age, with so many firm partners and senior counsel of companies and banks in one room for over 3 hours, in the middle of a crisis market no less. It was refreshing and it reminded me of my NYC associate days, at the dawn of the blackberry (it was some strange and bulky optional device back then that stayed in most attorneys’ desks permanently, in the box it came in). My bberry was constantly vibrating inside my suit jacket, as the Asia market got under way, but I was not about to be the one to break the anti bberry good vibes. Second, Robert and I were very fortunate to sit down for dinner with a retired partner alumnus, in his 80s, who was, come to find out, the mentor for Mr. Youngwood, and who had been at Paul Weiss since receiving his JD in the 50s up until the mid 90s. He was kind enough to tell those at the table some war stories from back in the day of $4800 associate starting base, $400 bonus, 1200 billable hours, and typewriters, right on up to the mid nineties, when he gracefully retired. Those at the table were riveted by his stories for about 40 minutes or so. It is unfortunate that there is less loyalty in today’s big law firms (but then again, there would be no need for recruiters). Third, it was very refreshing to see that, although it can be a difficult and grueling profession at times, here was a partnership, as well as partner alumni going back decades, that clearly hold their outgoing chairman in the highest of esteem and place a high value in the history, tradition, and collective mission of their firm (yes, all this might be distant seconds to billables, but is a big reason why senior partners at some elite lockstep partnerships don’t bolt for simply substantially higher compensation elsewhere). At the risk of sounding corny, it was a glimpse of the very rewarding side of practicing at a very busy prominent firm, a glimpse that you may not see so much when you are either an over worked associate wondering if all nighter is better than sleeping two hours, or under worked, due to the economy, and worried about job security.

Back to the grind… On Wednesday, I had breakfast in NYC with a prospective partner candidate for Middle East, then met with an active and two of my long-term prospective associate candidates for Asia. Then it was back home to Miami (Sunny Isles to be precise) where I worked long hours on the phones and with emails for a couple of days (and wondered about the all nighter dilemma aforementioned) before flying back to NYC for another candidate meeting Saturday, then a flight to Tokyo. I actually like long-haul flights, as long as I am in the front of the plane with free upgrade (I recommend AA exec platinum for the best perks), because its 12+ hours of bliss where I don’t have to worry about emails and phone calls and can catch up on the sleep I missed all week prior. I always forget that my bberry never works in Tokyo for some reason, so that adds another two hours of no contact with the world while I take a car from Narita to town, check in and search for a Japan sim card.

Today (Monday), it is a holiday in Tokyo, so I did not visit any firms and just met with a couple of associates I have placed in the past. Tomorrow, I have four firm meetings and then I will go to the airport to greet my wife (and try not to think about the $240 each way taxis to Narita), who is flying in from Riga, Latvia (where we also have a home) for a fun month of sightseeing and shopping in Asia (I will need to make an extra placement this month) while I work.