Big Law abroad Forum

[mccllln2]

I'm interested in doing transactional or M&A work abroad for a major firm like Kirkland & Ellis, DLA Piper, etc. The dream would be to make big law money while living abroad, most ideally in Asia. Aside from excelling grades wise, how do I put myself on track to achieve this? Has anyone else gone through this process? Would I have to get a normal SA and then somehow lateral to an international office? I'm feeling a little lost. I'm about to begin 1L at a midrange T14 and have significant work experience abroad but it's completely unrelated to the legal field. Thank you in advance.

[mccllln2]

oh and to tack on one more question, how crucial is it to speak the language?

[CanadianWolf]

My understanding is that two or three years in a US locale is better than starting in a satellite office abroad. Also, language proficiency is almost a must if for no other reason than these positions are sought by many well qualified fluent speakers.
Additionally, if planning to return to the US after a few years abroad, one should research the likelihood of that being a viable option.

China, to the best of my knowledge, requires most work to be done or completed by one with a Chinese law license.

P.S. Just trying to help get the conversation started.

[inter-associate]

A couple of quick thoughts:

Most of the top firms in HK hire a few summer associates every year. Some firms require them to split their time between NY and HK and some require them to spend a year or two in NY first, but either way these summers are basically guaranteed a spot in HK once they have finished their time. The lateral market for fully fluent/native speakers with 3-5 years of US experience is generally pretty good right now, but without that experience you may have a hard time getting hired directly by a top firm in HK. Some of the lower ranked firms (Baker McKenzie (which is really strong in Asia), DLA Piper, etc.) are much less formal in their hiring practices so you may be able to network your way to a position outside the OCI process.

Language is still not "mandatory", but I don't know how you would build a practice in HK/PRC without fluency in Mandarin (strong fluency). You will be expected to spend a ton of time on business development doing pitches where you basically interview with potential clients. They come from all over the region, with a variety of accents, and are increasingly demanding international counsel that can explain all aspects of the transaction without any barriers. There is still a place for non-speakers with great technical skills (they often end up on counsel track instead of partner track) but the window is closing fast on that need.

China, to the best of my knowledge, requires most work to be done or completed by one with a Chinese law license.

This is technically true, but irrelevant to international firms. Local PRC firms handle due diligence and Chinese regulatory matters, but the bulk of the work on international transactions (including HK listings of debt and equity and most of the large M&A transactions) is handled by international firms. PRC firms are good at what they do, but they do not have the technical skills or talent to handle the international portion of the work (which is most of the billing on transactions). I have worked on one transaction with a PRC firm trying to handle the international work, but they had to bring in a "special consultant" to handle the deal and their client got rocked in terms of negotiating the debt covenants. As a general rule, the international firm monopoly on the international work is making it hard for the PRC firms to get involved.

By the way, you can't post in the thread below as a 0L, but if you want more information about working in Asia you can check out the following recent thread:
http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=250754