London has been the destination of choice for Australian and New Zealand lawyers wanting an overseas stint. However, the possibilities and rewards to be found in the US - especially in the top-tier firms - are becoming increasingly attractive, Zoe Lyon reports.

London has traditionally been, and remains, the preferred destination, more recently the US has been opening up as an increasingly viable and popular alternative. While more junior level lawyers certainly make up the majority of those going to work there, a steady number of more senior lawyers are also making the move.

Gaining entry

The US legal market has traditionally had a reputation for being a bit of a closed shop for Australian and New Zealand lawyers. Ben Carter of Hays Recruitment says that New York firms in particular were, in the past, very insular and difficult to get into. "They were only interested in people who were locally qualified - they tended to recruit laterally from other New York firms," he explains. Added deterrents, such as the competition for a limited number of visas, have meant that places like London have been viewed more favourably. "London firms have had a steady stream of Australian lawyers for years; they're very welcoming and the salaries are still huge," says Carter.

Charles Robinson, currently a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in New York, moved from Sydney to New York in 1996 to take a 'one-year visiting lawyer position' with Sullivan & Cromwell. He says that at that stage there were very few Australian lawyers in New York and that the one-year visiting programs "used to be the only real way to get to the US".

Cameron Thomson of recruitment agency Naiman Clarke, estimates that 95% of the people interested in working in the US want to go to New York. However, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago are also becoming increasingly popular. Cameron believes that the introduction of the E3 visas, reserved exclusively for Australians with 'specialty occupations', has been one of the principal reasons for the trend.

Prior to their introduction in 2005, Australian lawyers had to compete for the highly sought after H-1B visas. While up to 10,500 E3 visas can now be issued to Australians per year, only 900 Australians were successful in obtaining a H-1B visa in 2004. An additional benefit is the automatic right of the spouse of the holder of an E3 visa to work in the US.

In contrast, the US market is becoming less accessible for lawyers from places such as Europe and Asia. In recent years, the number of H-1B visas being issued has fallen and competition for them is fierce - the entire quota of H-1B visas for the 2007 financial year was filled on the day that applications opened.

Talent shortage

A shortage of talent within the US has pushed US firms towards hiring overseas. "The market in the US has become much more open and Australians are viewed very favourably," says Robinson.

The demand is not for junior lawyers where the market is "close to its fill", says Thomson. It is for lawyers with at least five years post-admission experience and particularly those in finance and corporate, he continues. Carter of Hays Recruitment agrees that the demand is higher for more experienced lawyers and that the US is a different market to London. "A two-year lawyer would have difficulty getting a position in a New York law firm whereas in London it would be comparatively easy."

However, while the demand is certainly there, top US firms have high standards. "Even for someone at partner level, achievement in your undergraduate studies matters," says Thomson. Work experience is also important. People with experience at well-known, top-tier firms will be highly regarded, says Carter.

Beatrice O'Brien, founder of recruitment agency Attorney Placements International, is of the view that for more senior lawyers it is particularly important to find a good fit between the person and the firm. She explains that while junior lawyers are more flexible, it is important that there are synergies between the firm and a more senior lawyer who has an established specialty area of practice. A few US law firms still insist on meeting the candidate in person.

Making the decision

What motivates experienced Australian and New Zealand lawyers to make the move to the US? For Dominic Hodson, who has been living in the US for over four years, it was the experience and the career opportunities. Hodson started with Minter Ellison in Sydney and had been working as special counsel in Minter Ellison's London office for approximately six months when the opportunity arose for him to move to the US. He is now a partner at Seyfarth Shaw in San Francisco, specialising in international employment and labour law.

One of the drawcards of legal practice in the US is the sheer size of the market and the opportunities this presents for greater specialisation, says Hodson. He believes that although the competition for making partner in a US firm is undeniably tough, there are more avenues open for getting there.

"If you're a sixth or seventh year lawyer in Australia and you're beginning to realise that partnership opportunities in your practice area in your firm might be tight, there aren't so many alternatives," Hodson says. In the US, however "it's possible to shift the focus of your legal expertise slightly" in order to move into a niche market, he adds.

For many, the prospect of a top US law firm salary, combined with lower tax rates, will certainly appeal. Even taking into account the discount that is often applied to an Australian or New Zealand lawyer's salary in a US law firm, the Australian/New Zealand lawyer in the US comes out well on top.

However, the top US law firms often have long hours, few holidays and an intense working environment. The expectations of US firms in regards to billable hours are generally higher than in Australia, Hodson says. For some senior lawyers, particularly those who have experienced the late nights and weekend work at more junior levels, priorities have shifted. However, working for a top US firm does not necessarily mean returning to that environment.

Kevin Evans, originally from the UK but now a senior associate at Atanaskovic Hartnell in Sydney specialising in corporate M&A and private equity, is moving to New York later this year to take up a position with Gibbons PC. As he has previously worked for five years at the London office of a large New York firm and experienced what he describes as "the billable hours culture", a drawcard of Gibbons PC was its emphasis on maintaining a sensible work-life balance. "As someone with two young children, my desire to bill 100+ hours a week has somewhat diminished," Evans says.

International presence

Another attraction of US law firms is their growing international presence and the opportunities for working on large, international transactions with international clients. The scale of the US legal market means that US firms have been able, and willing, to invest in new areas of practice, and they have been far more aggressive than Australian firms in expanding into Europe and Asia, says Hodson.
 
One of the attractions of the position at Gibbons PC was the role that he will be playing in "increasing the amount of work they do for foreign companies investing into the US", says Evans. He continues that "running transactions for their existing European clients" was also a factor in his decision.

However, Mark Chapple, Baker & McKenzie's managing partner in Sydney, says that in other respects legal practice in US firms is fairly similar to Australia (with litigation perhaps being the exception). They have similar practice group structures and the adaptation process for an Australian or New Zealand lawyer is relatively smooth, he continues.

Whether the requirement in the US to sit the bar exam acts as much of a deterrence is open to debate. Thomson says that he has never seen anyone "discouraged by the bar exam" and, despite the notoriously high failure rates in California and New York, he estimates that "for someone from an English-speaking, common law background who received honours in their undergraduate degree, the failure rate would be less than 1%". However, Carter says that they are "significant exams" which may act as a deterrent. Hodson agrees, explaining that "plenty of intelligent people don't pass the California bar exam".

An important consideration for senior lawyers, particularly those at partner level, is the likelihood that they will have to leave their clients and established practice behind and start afresh. "Client contacts are very valuable to a senior lawyer and difficult to give up," Carter explains. Additionally, while it is relatively easy for a junior lawyer to pack up and go overseas for a two- or three-year stint, for a more senior lawyer, with an established practice and possibly a family, going overseas is a bigger investment. While it varies from person to person, for senior lawyers, a move overseas "is likely to be more permanent and they should think very carefully about where they want their experience considered" Thomson says.

While the US will not be replacing London as the destination of choice for Australian and New Zealand lawyers in the foreseeable future, it presents an increasingly attractive alternative for those wanting an overseas experience.

Top 10 Most Prestigious US Law Firms - 2006
 1. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz - New York, NY
 2. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP - New York, NY
 3. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP - New York, NY
 4. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP - New York, NY
 5. Davis Polk & Wardwell - New York, NY
 6. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP - New York, NY
 7. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP - New York, NY
 8. Latham & Watkins LLP - Los Angeles, CA
 9. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP - New York, NY
 10. Kirkland & Ellis LLP - Chicago, IL
 Source - Vault 2006 Associate Survey

Opportunities in the US
* increasing number of Australian and New Zealand lawyers heading to the US
* high demand from US firms for talented Australian and New Zealand senior lawyers, particularly in corporate or finance
* the scale of the US legal market provides opportunities for greater specialisation
* US firms have a strong international presence and are involved in large international transactions

US salary comparison
The average salary at a top US firm for someone with six years' post-qualification experience is approximately US$230,000 (US$270,000 for a top New York firm). This compares with an average of about A$140,000 in a top-tier Australian firm and NZ$110,000 in a top-tier New Zealand firm for someone with the same level of experience.