In Asia Pacific, women have made significant progress in the legal sector in recent years. Currently, women lead the Asian operations of at least six global firms. They include Ashurst’s Head of Asia Jini Lee; Clifford Chance’s Asia Pacific regional Managing Partner Connie Heng; Herbert Smith Freehill’s Asia Managing Partner May Tai; Linklaters’ Asia ManagingContinue reading “Women in Law – Asia Pacific”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Legal Sector’s Reply to ChatGPT
With the boom in ChatGPT, a generative AI, the legal sector is trying to figure out how the advance AI applies to the market. Here are some law firms’ reactions to ChatGPT. Clayton UTZ (21 Feb 2023) – The age of the self-driving bureaucracy? ChatGPT and the Public Sector (https://www.claytonutz.com/knowledge/2023/february/the-age-of-the-self-driving-bureaucracy-chatgpt-and-the-public-sector) Allen & Overy (15 FebContinue reading “The Legal Sector’s Reply to ChatGPT”
ChatGPT: do the benefits outweigh the potential pitfalls?
What is ChatGPT? ChatGPT is an AI chatbot system developed by OpenAI which uses large databases of language to generate human conversational text based on the context of the conversation. “GPT” means Generative Pre-training Transformer architecture, a neural network designed for natural language processing tasks. It uses its pre-trained massive databases from the internet toContinue reading “ChatGPT: do the benefits outweigh the potential pitfalls?”
A Challenging Year: An Appraisal of the Chinese Legal Market in 2022
Vicky Liu, Director at Hughes-Castell, is held in high esteem by clients and candidates in China’s legal market. In this interview with Agnes Wang from China Business Law Podcast, she discusses what China’s legal market looked like in 2022 under the influence of the pandemic, and the trends of Chinese and foreign law firms inContinue reading “A Challenging Year: An Appraisal of the Chinese Legal Market in 2022”
Recoveries vary across different countries, but overall rebound expected in 2023
After having their economies battered for over two years, in 2022 several countries were fighting to return to normal while China was clinging to Covid restrictions. China’s strict zero-Covid policy had a ripple effect on the economy and the legal industry. As a result, Australia has replaced China as the region’s top location for significantContinue reading “Recoveries vary across different countries, but overall rebound expected in 2023”
Asia Legal Market Looks To 2023 For Stability
Although the world is weary of talking about Covid and its effects on the markets and day-to-day life, the reality is that the effects of the pandemic continue to resonate in this part of the world in a way that seems like a bad memory for the west. Protests in China have been well-documented, andContinue reading “Asia Legal Market Looks To 2023 For Stability”
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”
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?”
Internal Recruitment: Administrative Assistant
Hughes-Castell (Hong Kong) Limited is the longest established legal recruitment consultancy in Asia. We are currently seeking an administrative assistant with a professional manner for an administrative role to be responsible for day-to-day operations and provide general administrative support to our team based in Sai Ying Pun. We would love to hear from you, ifContinue reading “Internal Recruitment: Administrative Assistant”
Internal Recruitment: Recruitment Researcher
Hughes-Castell, multi-award-winning legal recruitment and executive search firm, was established in London in 1985 and Hong Kong in 1986. We have spent more than 35 years advising clients and lawyers on leadership succession, recruitment and professional development across Asia Pacific and built a strong reputation with top Fortune/Fortune Global corporations, financial services institutions and international/ChineseContinue reading “Internal Recruitment: Recruitment Researcher”
How to ace your partner interview
Partner recruiting in general is a complex and lengthy process. It can take anywhere from a couple of months to over a year. At the core of the process are the interviews with prospective colleagues and leaders at other firms. In preparing a partner-level interview, you have to be able to present a compelling appraisalContinue reading “How to ace your partner interview”
How your firm can stand out and hire the “right” lawyers in the post-Covid-19 period?
The competition for legal talent remains fierce, even with the pandemic still hampering the economy globally. While approaching the post-pandemic period, law firms, alongside companies across all industries and sectors, in need of new talent will have to hire externally to support their anticipated quick recovery. Therefore, finding the “right” talent is a core driverContinue reading “How your firm can stand out and hire the “right” lawyers in the post-Covid-19 period?”
IWD 2021: Celebrating Women in Law Firms’ Leadership
In these troubled times of pandemic and market turmoil, we have striven to look for positive news. In one example, last year saw more female lawyers take on leadership roles for top international firms in Asia. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer made history by appointing Georgia Dawson as their first female Senior Partner in September, and MorrisonContinue reading “IWD 2021: Celebrating Women in Law Firms’ Leadership”
Tackling Gender Diversity in Law in the Covid-19 Era
We should recognise that diversity and equality matter as a point of principle in the workplace, but we can now draw conclusions that they have an uplifting effect on business performance. The legal profession has spent years wrestling with gender diversity but, for all the progress made, we still have some way to go. LawContinue reading “Tackling Gender Diversity in Law in the Covid-19 Era”
Asia LegalTech Overview, Singapore
Singapore has a thriving LegalTech industry more advanced than most of its Asian neighbors, as LegalTech startups and programs have received substantial government backing in the past few years. We believe nowhere else in Asia has the same level of sovereign investment in LegalTech and innovation as Singapore. LegalTech initiatives are supported as part ofContinue reading “Asia LegalTech Overview, Singapore”
Leaders in Law: Interview with Lian Lian
Lian Lian is the Managing Director, APAC at Kobre & Kim, an international law firm specializing in cross-border disputes and investigations. She started out as an associate at international law firms focusing on cross-border transactions and corporate practice, then worked her way up as in-house counsel at Honeywell through various APAC General Counsel roles untilContinue reading “Leaders in Law: Interview with Lian Lian”
India In-house Legal Market Overview – 2020
India has one of the largest legal profession set-ups in the world, fittingly sitting alongside the world’s largest democracy. Which means disruption, doubts, and delays caused by Covid-19 were exacerbated in this market more than most others. Hiring activity remained busy throughout, however, and it will be fascinating to see whether such activity continues inContinue reading “India In-house Legal Market Overview – 2020”
Embracing 2021 with positivity and aspirations
Dear Friends, Candidates and Clients, I hope this message finds you and your families safe and healthy. We all have experienced the challenging year of 2020, globally or locally, personally or professionally. Pay cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and compensation freezes were everywhere last year. Many in the legal industry were unclear whether things will return toContinue reading “Embracing 2021 with positivity and aspirations”
What Makes You A Leader?
What adjectives come to mind when you think of the word “leader”? Passionate? Inspirational? And humble? Some people still hold mistaken thoughts that leaders must be in high-level positions, such as supervisors, partners, government officials etc., but these are not necessarily what defines a leader. Everyone may have their own interpretation of leadership, but ourContinue reading “What Makes You A Leader?”