Legal Jobs Threats To Kiwi & Aussie Lawyers in UK

Legal Jobs Threats To Kiwi & Australian Lawyers in UK
LawFuel - The Law Jobs and News Wire
Immigration consultants and others help lawyers avoid the trip to Heathrow

As London law jobs come under greater pressure some firms have been advising kiwi and Australian lawyers how to handle potential job losses, LawFuel.co.nz reports.

It was reported this week that Freshfields had emailed advice to expatriate lawyers on how to position themselves in the event of job losses and the firm has asked British immigration consultants to consult with staffers who may be under threat.

Changes to visa requirements make a major obstacle for those without jobs and several firms, Freshfields included, have introduced salary cuts and have frozen salaries in order to reduce the likelihood of job cuts.

Unfortunately, the position at home is not as bright as could be expected either. Some Australian firms have recently laid off lawyers, although the situaiton in both Australia and New Zealand has been substantially better than either the UK or the US, which have seen subtantial legal jobs losses.

Australian law firms have suffered somewhat with the reduction in Chinese demand for resources and major infrastructure projects beset by funding issues, two important work sources.

“The Australian economy traditionally lags behind the world market, due to the commodities cycle, so we haven’t been hit as hard as the UK or US,” John Weber, executive managing partner of big six law firm Minter Ellison.

“Our primary banking sector had little direct exposure to the ­financial losses that have crippled so many overseas institutions, and banks here remain tightly regulated and well capitalised.”

The Lawyer magazine reports that of the big six firms, Allens Arthur Robinson leads the pack in Asian operations, with offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Hanoi, Ho Chi Min City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Port Moseby, Shanghai and Singapore. Mallesons has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai; Minter Ellison in Hong Kong and Shanghai; and Blake ­Dawson and Freehills both have Shanghai operations (with the former also present in Port Moseby and Jakarta).

Only Clayton Utz has eschewed the strategy of putting people on the ground, although this has not stopped the firm profiting from the region, advising on both the $15bn ­Taiwan High Speed Rail project and the A$2bn Lao-Thai Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric project in 2008.

Australia and New Zealand,have pushed infrastructure projects as a way to boost struggling economies, private sector participants are struggling to fund large projects. Infrastructure projects in both countries give hope of continued, major legal work but the current ­challenges around foreign bank funding means projects are increasingly coming under stress and financing for large projects can only come from direct government funding.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media