If you’re an Aussie and feeling overlooked by big law firms in the recruitment process, you can feel just a bit better because Roll on Friday is reporting some good news:
“Herbert Smith has announced that it’s on the look out for Australian lawyers for its London and Asia offices.
Herbert Smith London corporate partner Greg Mulley told the Australian that the firm had a good track record of hiring – and keeping – Australian lawyers. Unlike other London firms, where he suggests the business model is more along the lines of “employ Aussies in good times and sack them in bad.” The firm is particularly looking to Oz for its energy specialists. According to Anna Howell, a Hong Kong corporate partner at the firm, this is because “Australia is full of the stuff.” Energy that is.”
To view some of our latest job openings, including those at Herbert Smith, please visit us at Law Alliance.
Every Friday we will post our latest job openings in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. With improving news on the employment front, we continue to have even more positions for qualified candidates looking to move their careers forward. This week, we have a number of new positions for which we are seeking ambitious legal professionals interested in working in Japan.
1. Head of Contract Management – 4+pqe – IT & T Leading International Company
Leading IT Company seeks experienced Contract Manager for Japan Office. You will preferably have fluent or native level of Japanese and strong management skills. A deep knowledge of business practices, contracting regulations and principles are required. A unique opportunity at a leading Fortune 500 company.
2. Legal Counsel, Leading Healthcare company, Kansai
Legal Counsel at a leading healthcare company. (Kansai ) Responsibilities: -Advise on corporate legal matters to their group companies including marketing, sales people, as well as senior management. -Review and revise agreements in both English and Japanese. -Attend meetings with internal staff to monitor compliance issue and assist on making documents. -Maintenance of compliance activity and guidelines -Provide training on compliance to internal staff.
3. Japanese/ French translator
Leading international firm is seeking a Japanese/ French translator for its Tokyo office. The position is to assist the lawyers in document translation and preparation. The position is open to new graduates who are fluent in both French and Japanese. Exciting international environment for international minded eager candidate
To apply for these and other positions, please visit our job search page at Law Alliance
Google just can’t stop stirring things up in Asia. First ruffling feathers in China, and now ruffling American feathers with its newly announced search deal with Yahoo Japan. The National Journal’s Tech Dose reported on Japanese approval of the deal:
“Japan’s antitrust authority defended its decision Wednesday to approve Yahoo Japan’s deal with Google to use its search services after critics such as rival Microsoft criticized the agreement as anticompetitive.
“Both companies will remain independent search and advertising providers, will not share any customer or pricing information and will continue to vigorously compete in Japan,” Daniel Alegre, vice president of sales for Google Japan and Asia-Pacific, wrote in his blog post Tuesday. “Our hope is that through this deal we can drive further innovation in ads and search and spur each other–and other companies–towards greater competition.”
But Microsoft Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Dave Heiner argued that the Google-Yahoo Japan deal is even more anticompetitive than a U.S. advertising agreement, Google and Yahoo Inc. had to abandon in 2008 because of antitrust concerns raised by the Justice Department.”
Nothing I love more than one near monopoly whining about the evils of another near monopoly. No matter what, this is surely going to result in some serious billable hours for someone somewhere.
The International Herald Tribune offers some deeper insight in terms of the deal:
“Yahoo Japan will use Google technology to power its Internet search engine and search advertising platform, the Japanese company announced Tuesday, diverging from a nascent alliance between the U.S. Internet portal Yahoo and Microsoft.
The deal puts Yahoo Japan, partly owned by the U.S. company, on a sharply different path from that of its American cousin, Yahoo, which is planning to use Microsoft’s Bing search technology by the end of this year under an agreement announced in 2009.
The partnership between Yahoo Japan and Google would create a powerhouse that combines Google’s search technology with Yahoo Japan’s popular content and services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Yahoo holds 34.8 percent of Yahoo Japan, while Softbank, the Japanese cellphone and Web giant, owns 38.6 percent.
Google’s share of Web searches in Japan has been growing, but it still trails Yahoo Japan, the market leader. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, a research firm, Yahoo Japan grabs 53.2 percent of Web queries in the country, followed by Google at 37.3 percent. Microsoft’s MSN and Bing searches garnered just 2.6 percent.
Globally, though, Google dominates — the company had 85 percent of Internet queries, compared with 6.2 percent for Yahoo brand searches in June, according to the analysis arm of Net Applications, a Web services company.
Yahoo Japan’s adoption of Google’s search technology would mean that about 90 percent of Web queries in Japan would be powered by the company. Yahoo Japan used Google technology for its search engine from 2001 to 2004, but then switched back to Yahoo’s system.
Masahiro Inoue, chief executive of Yahoo Japan, said that after a year of careful analysis, the company had concluded that it would ultimately benefit more from Google’s search engine than from Microsoft’s because of Google’s record in Japanese-language queries. Google has had a presence in Japan since 2001.”
You can read more about the terms of the deal at the IHT’s website.
Are you ready for the Facebookization of legal practice? Well, there might be no choice according to a recent Wall Stree Journal article:
“Soon after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank in April, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP turned to the Web in pursuit of law clients.
The New York-based plaintiffs’ firm set up websites with names like bigspills.com, oilspillclaims.com and oil-rig-explosions.com, and it filled them with news related to the disaster and invitations for visitors to provide their names and contact information.
More than 1,000 people have now completed the forms on the websites, and Parker Waichman, which has 23 lawyers, has filed about a dozen suits related to the oil disaster.
Law firms, particularly those that represent plaintiffs, are increasingly devoting resources to developing a presence online, where consumers—and potential clients—congregate. And some of those firms are also creating news sites, such as newsinferno.com andconsumerwarningnetwork.com, with content created by employees.
The plaintiffs’ sites disclose that they are affiliated with law firms, but many have the look and feel of community forums or news boards. And they have recently begun to supplant some more traditional marketing methods, such as yellow-page ads and radio and television spots.
Like many plaintiffs firms, Parker Waichman also buys search ads and uses Facebook to publicize its sites. It also has 20 technology specialists who handle such tasks as writing copy for its roughly 300 websites. “We are on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, all the social-networking sites,” said Jerrold Parker, a partner, noting that the firm now spends more than $1 million a year on digital marketing, about a third of its average annual marketing budget.
The firm bought Google search ads for a few days after the BP PLC oil disaster to attract users to the law firm. It also added content to boost the sites’ rankings in the search results for terms like “oil spill lawsuit.”
Mr. Parker said he believes that “people will trust something in the organic section” of Web search results much more than paid ads.”
As with most firms, Freshfields seeks to attract top lawyers by publicizing the diversity ot its talent pool. To that end, the firm has introduced a pilot mentoring scheme in order to groom its female associates for positions as partners. This is of particular interest to firms operating in Asia, as these offices tend to lag behind their Western counterparts in the relative number of female partners on the rolls. From Roll on Friday:
“Six female senior associates from departments across the firm will take part in the pilot, as part of the snappily titled “Strategic Excellence Leadership Programme”. It should be rolled out more widely if the scheme proves a success.
Billed as focussing on career development and how to be a role model and influencer – presumably not in the Kate Moss mould – the pilot will include two one day workshops and regular sessions with a senior partner mentor. Senior associates will also take part in monthly hour long coaching sessions with consultancy firm Aspire, which specialises in women’s development, according to the Lawyer.”
To see some of the positions we have…for both men AND women, please visit us at Law Alliance.
Every Friday we will post our latest job openings in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. With improving news on the employment front, we continue to have even more positions for qualified candidates looking to move their careers forward. This week, we have a number of new positions for which we are seeking well qualified professionals in Hong Kong.
1. Associate Director – Business Investment (Hong Kong)
Our client is a listed property investment company located in Hong Kong, Macau and China.
– Degree holder in Finance and Accounting or relevant subject with qualified;
– At least 6 years or above experiences in finance industry, with exposures in Direct Investment Analyst;
– Involved in financial and business analysis of different core projects;
– Experience for investment fund such as privately equity or banking will be advantage;
– Excellent written and spoken English, Cantonese and Mandarin
– Detail minded, hands on, and able to work under pressure and meet the deadlines
This role offers progressive opportunities for the right candidate.
5.5 days Alternative Saturday, 13 months salary plus discretion bonus, full range of benefits
2. Employment Paralegal – Hong Kong
A bright and independent paralegal with experience in Employment or Corporate areas is sought by this top tier firm. With experience working in a fast paced environment and proven ability to prioritise workflow, you will work with and learn from some of the best players in the market.
Responsibilities:
– Assist in drafting and proofreading documents;
– Conduct legal research to keep the team abreast of the latest changes and developments of relevant law issues;
– Contact and liaise with clients;
– Filing and maintain know how database;
– Translate legal documents.
Requirements:
– At least 2 years of paralegal experience, preferably from international law firms;
– Strong Chinese and English language skills, must be able to read and draft Chinese legal documents;
– Able to prioritise work flow and work in a fast paced environment;
– Able to work independently as well as in a team.
3. APAC Legal Counsel 5+Yrs PQE, Global Icon – Hong Kong
Our client is a global leader and a household name in every leading capital market. To address the rapid growth of its business endeavors in the Asia Pacific rim, this illustrious enterprise would like to invite a seasoned lawyer to join its team of exceptional professionals. As an integral member, you will be responsible for establishing and managing the legal function for the entire APAC region of a significant business unit of this premier conglomerate. You will work closely with various business groups and external parties in overlooking a broad range of matters such as regulatory, corporate, litigation, data protection, employment, corporate governance, and compliance-related matters. Multi-jurisdictional intellectual property, corporate and regulatory experience essential. Rare prospect for stellar career advancement.
To apply for these and other positions, please visit our job search page at Law Alliance.
