Law Jobs Growth in China

It won’t surprise anyone to know that the fastest-growing law jobs market is China which, according to the National Law Journal is now the second most popular location for American law firms.

The NLJ figures cover 2010 and show that of the “NLJ 250″ firms, 70 of them maintained offices in the fast-growing economy with a total legal complement of 2055 lawyers.

The major international law firms – be they US-based or UK-based have opened offices in China over the past decade or longer, but the developing, dynamic legal regime in China itself has also given rise to the development of new law jobs with Chinese law firms that have risen steadily.

Robert Chu, who headed the Beijing office of New York-based Sullivan & Cromwell LLP from 2007 to 2009 said to Bloomberg last year:

“The secular rise of these Chinese firms is part of a seismic shift in the competitive landscape for international firms in China,” said Chu, who now heads his firm’s Australia practice.

Law Jobs - Chinese law firms (and the law jobs that go with them) have echoed the growth seen by such firms as Baker & McKenzie, based on capital flows and following the expansion of their own clients beyond China.

This too was remarked upon by David Fleming who was B&M’s managing partner, which has expanded beyond its Chicago base to open offices around the globe.  Lawyers like David Fleming see no reason why Chinese law firms will not offer the range and quality of services that major international law firms currently offer.

China itself has 190,000 lawyers (one for every 7000 people), which compares to a ratio in the US of one lawyer per 303 people, and one per 390 in the UK.

Law firms other countries like Japan, Australia, Germany and elsewhere – over 20 in fact, have also seen growth in China’s legal market and a total over over 230 offices have opened on mainland China and 70 in Hong Kong.

The scope for law jobs in the growing China market is high.