Summary Highlights Legal Market, Partner Moves, In Asia-Pacific

China’s economy might be close to recession, but lawyers are still in demand in the corporate M&A sector, and, according to a summary on the Major, Lindsey and Africa site, PRC firms (specialists in administrative and local regulation and rules in the People’s Republic of China) are growing on the Mainland and in Hong Kong. Corporate finance, funds and finance lawyers are also in demand in Hong Kong, and associate recruitment is active. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific area, M&A remains strong in Japan with a continuing demand for transactional lawyers, especially if they are bilingual. 2018 was a good year for law firms in Australia with the big majority of major firms enjoying significant revenue growth, much of which came from major infrastructure project spending and an increase of inbound foreign investment. Firms increased headcount in almost all practice areas and competition for top transactional, disputes and regulatory lawyers continues. FCPA is the focus in Singapore market, with some firms looking to grow and hire in that sector.