More solicitors are seeking jobs offshore

More solicitors are seeking jobs offshore, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, recruiters report
www.LawFuel.co.nz - Legal Jobs & Newswire - Legal recruiters report a major influx of CVs as lawyers seek work in the Middle East and Asia.

The problem for many is that the lawyers seeking jobs face an even bigger influx of CVs from lawyers from the troubled US legal market, along with lawyers from UK firms seeking work in the more buoyant Mid-East and Asian markets.

"However, it's not all beer and roses out here either," one legal recruiter in the Middle East told LawFuel. "The market in Dubai is slower than it has been and positions being sought are often coming from people without the necessary skills."

The New York Times recently reported that a Dubai recruiter had received so many applications from top-quality New York lawyers that he is seeing a slight backlog. "To be completely honest," he said, "we're really struggling to get these guys jobs over here."

John Lonsberg, who heads Fulbright & Jaworski's legal team in Saudi Arabia, told the Times he is also seeing interest in the Middle East job market. "We always see a lot of résumés-three to five a day," he said.

Interest is also strong in Hong Kong, where recruiters have seen a record number of CVs in the last two months, the story says.

The increased interest comes as law firms experiencing declining profits in the United States continue to expand into the Middle East and Asia in search of additional legal revenue.

Mark Bisch, who heads Fulbright's office in Dubai, estimates that in just the past year, nearly 40 British and U.S. firms have opened branches in the Middle East. Some firms are expanding overseas even as they lay off lawyers here.

So many law firms have opened offices in Dubai that some are turning to new locations in the area, according to the Times. Clifford Chance, Patton Boggs, Latham & Watkins, Dewey & LeBoeuf and Vinson & Elkins are all opening offices in Abu Dhabi, 90 miles away. And Latham & Watkins, Dewey & LeBoeuf, DLA Piper and Covington & Burling are opening offices in Doha, the capital city of Qatar.

ENDS

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