Hiring at Partner Level? What are the Options?

These lawyers with about 10 years of experience at partner level are in the prime of their careers. They are able to generate consistent fees for the firm, manage a sizable team, and have developed a working reputation. This group of individual partners ticks all the boxes for firms seeking to grow an existing office or set up a new practice. Interestingly, more partners in this group are currently working at PRC law firms rather than international firms. In recent years, Chinese law firms have grown more quickly and a number of top-billing partners at international firms have jumped ship to their domestic counterparts. It is therefore becoming extremely difficult for international law firms in China to hire partners with mature businesses and established names. In order to attract high-caliber partners, international law firms often need to break away from their predominantly western financial and management structures.

Senior partners

Hiring more senior partners is obviously a higher cost to the business but it usually means they bring their established business with them. The challenges are how to identity the gap between financial investments and return, and strike the right balance between short-term pain and long-term gain. There are very few of these senior partners in China, but they are at the top of the foodchain. They have the most valuable business contacts and generate the most profitable work. Their careers may be starting to slow down naturally as retirement nears, but their resources and influence will nonetheless take many years to transfer to the next generation. This is particularly true in a locally sophisticated market like China. Businesses in China are more attached to personal relationships and these are more difficult to transfer between generations and firms than they are in the developed legal markets in the US or UK.

Hiring a team of different seniorities

In the current uncertain market, a team hire is often safer than an individual one. In particular, a team consisting of partners of varying seniority is much more likely to offer the firm everything it is looking for—a solid client base, strong execution, and time-tested team stability. Of course, this brings the bigger challenges of integration to the hiring firm, but these can be managed and addressed with time. We may see more and more team moves across both international and domestic Chinese/Hong Kong law firms in the years to come. However, identifying and materializing these opportunities takes time and, in many cases, requires expert guidance from either a search agent or a dedicated partner/senior hiring team within the law firm.

Hiring partners in China, at whatever level of seniority, is never easy. Many things need to fall into place on both sides of the deal in order for the move to happen. And, while considering a team hire can be daunting, it may present the best option for a law firm looking to bring in expertise at the partner level. Moving as part of a team is often far more attractive from a candidate perspective as well, which raises the likelihood of the deal going through.

Shawn Chen Associate Director (China)

SSQ