Location, location, location: the old mantra for real estate success has lately been adopted by some of the world’s top law firms. In a shift prompted as much by economic slow-downs in their own countries as by the growth of business abroad, a number of major law firms in the UK, US and Australia are naming increasing numbers of partners in their Asian offices. Consider London based international commerce stalwart Holman Fenwick Willan. In their most recent tranche of partner announcements, four out of the eight promoted attorneys hailed from the firm’s Asian outposts: two in Hong Kong, one in Singapore, and one in Shanghai. And while many other firms are not yet approaching the 50 per cent mark in their partnership announcements, it is rare today to see an international firm of any import not elevating a number of Asian-based attorneys on a regular basis. In the last two years, London’s Clifford Chance made six new partners in its Asian offices; meanwhile earlier this year Linklaters found three of its 28 new partners in its Asian offices.
While these numbers are indicative of steady growth – many London firms’ Asian partnership announcements still hover between 10 and 15% from year to year – other firms with major Asian presences such as Baker & McKenzie have been going gangbusters in ramping up their regional partner numbers. Having established its first Asian office in 1963, Bakers has something of a head start on other firms, many of which have come to the party only in the last decade or so. In 2007, the firm elevated 23 new partners across its Asian offices, bringing its then total Asian partner number to 275. The past year has seen a further 30 make the cut, bringing the number to 315, including both principals and local partners. “While the firm has increased its partnerships around the globe, we definitely intend on continuing this trend in Asia,” said David Jacobs, Bakers’ chairman for the Asia-Pacific region. “In Asia, we’ve increased our partner numbers in all our offices, but particularly in China, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, and Vietnam. These are both equity and non-equity partners.” “We’re very fortunate that the firm is globally going very well, and as a result we’ve increased both partnerships and absolute profit numbers – so we’ve been pretty lucky.
“Secondly, we’ve been fortunate in Asia in that we haven’t experienced the same effects of the sub-prime [crisis] and we’re seeing significant growth in China, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and, to some extent, Australia.”
Another firm that has been making major strides in the elevation of partners across the region is Australia’s Allens Arthur Robinson, which in its 1 July 2008 partnership intake is not only elevating a number of attorneys in its Asian offices (four out of 11 partners, or 36%, versus just two Asia-based partners in last year’s intake) but is, for the first time, bringing in non-common law practising partners into its inner circle. Further signalling the seriousness of the firm’s intentions towards Asia, all four of these attorneys will be brought in as equity partners.
“This is really quite an interesting time for us,” comments Allens’ Jim Dunstan, executive partner in charge of the firm’s Asian operations. “We’re bringing up a partner in an Indonesian law firm, signalling our close association with his firm (Widyawan) in Indonesia, and he’ll become an international partner. “In addition, we’ll be raising up another new partner in Cambodia, Marae Cianter – an Australian who graduated from Melbourne
University – and two more partners in Singapore: David Holme, who’ll focus on Indonesia; and Robert Fish, who’ll concentrate on Singapore banking.”
Along with the obvious instinct to name partners in Asia because, as the famous American bank robber Willie Sutton famously said, “because that’s where the money is”, the increasingly tight talent pool is another reason for firms to offer partnerships to their best and brightest.
Just as universities used to be able to (and in America, still regularly do) offer tenure to much sought-after lecturers, partnership is a good way to reward and hold onto talent.
“When I joined Lovells seven years ago, my analysis of the local talent markets was that although we were, at the time, behind the curve it wouldn’t be too hard for us to come into Asia and make up ground,” said Robert Lewis, managing partner of Lovell’s Beijing office. (Lovells’ most recent tranche of 18 partners, announced in April, included two in Asia, putting it well within the 10 to 15% band of comparable London firms). “But now, it’s going to be harder for new entrants to the market to catch up”. As more and more talents get snapped up into the lofty ranks of partner, “we’ll get to a stage where it isn’t easy to just come in and grab teams and collections of individuals,” said Lewis.