Author Archives: Hughes Castell

Baker Botts Redraws Asia Strategy Map With Singapore Opening

At the end of 2021 Baker Botts announced it was closing its Hong Kong office, just over a year after shuttering its Beijing premises, bringing to an end a 16-year physical presence in Greater China, and Asia as a whole. Not only was this the latest in a number of law firm withdrawals from theContinue reading “Baker Botts Redraws Asia Strategy Map With Singapore Opening”

Preparing for your lateral move

Making a lateral move is arguably the most significant part of a private practitioner’s career after making partner, so making this decision is contingent on a number of important factors including timing, cultural fit, business compatibility and long-term planning. Let us help you take the first step in your lateral move. Why a lateral move?Continue reading “Preparing for your lateral move”

Home Comforts for Singapore’s Big Hitters

The perceived wisdom is that Singapore will pose an increasing threat to Hong Kong in attracting legal talent as the latter sticks doggedly to a Zero-Covid target policy which involves stricter social distancing and quarantine requirements than elsewhere. This continues to curtail business travel, undermining Hong Kong’s acknowledged status as an international hub, and placesContinue reading “Home Comforts for Singapore’s Big Hitters”

Omicron-related social restrictions impair Asia Pacific Legal Recruitment Growth

When most of the Asia Pacific’s legal markets are recovering, sustaining, and growing, China witnessed  a quiet first half of 2022 due to the spreading of Omicron. A strong lockdown has been adopted in Shanghai since March and has been extended into other Chinese cities, including Beijing. With the easing of social restrictions, we witnessedContinue reading “Omicron-related social restrictions impair Asia Pacific Legal Recruitment Growth”

Legal Move Updates (Jul – Sep 2022)

Editor’s note: This is an ongoing list. September  29 September – ADCO Law (Jakarta, Indonesia) Jakarta-based law firm ADCO Law has hired corporate lawyer Alta Mahandara as partner from Wibowo Hadiwijaya & Co. With nearly 15 years of experience, Mahandara advises on foreign investment, electricity and water utility projects, railways, cross-border M&A, general corporate matters,Continue reading “Legal Move Updates (Jul – Sep 2022)”

Legal issues and opportunities in Web3

Whether you hate or love Web3, it is hot now because technology influencers like Venture capitalist Marc Andreesen, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Tesla chief Elon Musk are recently debating it.[1] The Web3 advocates also believe it is reshaping the economic landscape. Gartner estimates that Web3 will increase global GDP by USD 1.76 trillionContinue reading “Legal issues and opportunities in Web3”

In Memoriam Katherine Fan 1985 – 2022 Hughes-Castell is deeply saddened by the passing of our wonderful Managing Director Katherine Fan, who died peacefully in her hometown of Sydney on May 30, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. Katherine was very loved and respected both within our company and the broader legal and law firmContinue reading

Time to move in-house?

Moving in-house from a senior private practice position is a huge decision. However, in 2022, we have already seen three significant hires made in Asia’s technology or fintech industry, Joshua Chu going to Coinllectibles, Julie Gao to ByteDance, and Charlton Tse to Tencent. So, is this a prescient time to take a General Counsel/Chief LegalContinue reading “Time to move in-house?”

Omicron wave slows Asian legal markets’ recovery

In January, firms and lawyers were full of hope, expecting a lively 2022 fueled by global liquidity, recovery from the pandemic, and growing opportunities in the tech and biotech industries. However, the Omicron surge in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Korea slowed the recovery. Compared to Q1 2021, we witnessed a significant decline inContinue reading “Omicron wave slows Asian legal markets’ recovery”

Tech Unicorns continue to lure big names from Private Practice in Asia

The news that US IPO doyenne Julie Gao was leaving Skadden Arps to join TikTok owner ByteDance as Chief Financial Officer was initially greeted with shock and surprise by the market but, given a brief cooling off period, it seems like the move makes a lot of sense and is indeed part of an increasingContinue reading “Tech Unicorns continue to lure big names from Private Practice in Asia”

Legal Move Updates (Apr – Jun 2022)

Editor’s note: This is an ongoing list. June 30 June – Herbert Smith Freehills (Singapore, Singapore) Herbert Smith Freehills’ Singapore alliance firm Prolegis has added a new partner and head of projects from the Singapore formal law alliance unit of CMS. Adrian Wong advises equity sponsors, government authorities and others on energy, infrastructure and dataContinue reading “Legal Move Updates (Apr – Jun 2022)”

Building a network in a post-pandemic world

If you are a junior associate or in-house counsel, networking in the legal profession is vital in making connections, finding clients, creating collegial collaborations, and building referral relationships. However, networking for lawyers poses a few challenges in the wake of the pandemic. For more than a year, lawyers have not been able to attend industryContinue reading “Building a network in a post-pandemic world”

Tips to prepare for a legal internship

An internship nowadays is vital to a lawyer’s career. Summer internships are an important opportunity to learn about areas of the law you might want to pursue. Also, perhaps even more importantly, having a good internship could increase your chances of landing a dream job after law school. There are a set of things youContinue reading “Tips to prepare for a legal internship”

Celebrating IWD 2022 with the first Chairwoman in Vietnam of an international law firm

Dr. Nguyen Thi Lang, the first chairwoman in Vietnam of a global law firm, is also one of the first two J.D. graduates from HCMC University of Law and is therefore an ideal role model to discuss this year’s International Women’s Day theme, Breaking the Bias. In this interview with Sam Kenworthy, Dr. Lang NguyenContinue reading “Celebrating IWD 2022 with the first Chairwoman in Vietnam of an international law firm”

IWD 2022: Work together to break the bias

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #BreakTheBias. Women are encouraged to take action to interrupt biases that may prevent us from realizing our gender-equal goals. In striving to achieve these goals, we must work together to fight against the bias, stereotypes, and discrimination towards female lawyers and women in all walks ofContinue reading “IWD 2022: Work together to break the bias”

Boutiques target International Arbitration in Singapore

There have been a number of eyecatching moves in the Singapore international arbitration market over the past year, with senior partners making moves few would have predicted. At the turn of 2022 it was announced that partner Simon Dunbar and counsel Kevin Lim would be leaving international arbitration titans King & Spalding for diminutive SingaporeContinue reading “Boutiques target International Arbitration in Singapore”

Lawyers’ career planning during the pandemic

We are living in unprecedented times in many ways and legal career decisions have become even more pivotal. No matter if you are an experienced law practitioner planning a career transition, a new graduate navigating opportunities for the first time, or a law student seeking an internship, we would provide the following tips: Think thoroughlyContinue reading “Lawyers’ career planning during the pandemic”

Career Paths for China-based Lawyers with Doreen Jaeger-Soong (Part 1)

Doreen Jaeger-Soong, Managing Director at Hughes-Castell, one of Asia’s leading executive search firms, has been an authority on the legal market in China for over 30 years. In this interview with Art Dicker from China Business Law Podcast, she discusses the different possible paths for lawyers and the choices they must make as they progressContinue reading “Career Paths for China-based Lawyers with Doreen Jaeger-Soong (Part 1)”

Slowdown in recovery is real, but optimism is ahead

The ripple effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and legal industry dominated 2021. We were happy to see legal hiring markets across the Asia Pacific rebound strongly in early 2021. However, the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants saw a slowdown as we neared the end of the year. That being said,Continue reading “Slowdown in recovery is real, but optimism is ahead”