Feature | Employer of Choice >>
Employer of Choice CHINA
2010
►► Respondents by length of service
16% <2 years 41%
20%
2-3 years 4-5 years
23%
6 years +
For many lawyers who want to join the firm, Liu has delivered a good message. He says that Jun He has set up plans for two more rounds of promotions and lateral hires this year, both because the firm’s recruitment plans were slowed last year due to market conditions and due to its strategic decision to beef up new practice groups – including WTO and international trade, and IP. Grandall, who is a newcomer to the EOC title, has employed a similar strategy. “We actively promote younger lawyers and encourage them to be in the front line, working on cuttingedge transactions and integrating with clients. More interaction with clients means more job satisfaction for lawyers,” says Ni. “And as we operate as a true ‘firm’, not a collection of lawyers sharing an office, new partners usually have less pressure in terms of financial contribution and business development. They have enough time and a supportive environment to build up their own client base and book of business.” In 2009, Grandall not only didn’t make any staff redundancies but also continued to recruit and expand its numbers last year.
Investing in people
Mid-sized Shanghai firm MWE China is another newcomer this year, outranking many of its larger rivals. Despite the uncertainty brought about by the weakened state of the global economy, the firm has managed to maintain its headcount, salary levels and billable hour targets, as well as keeping its incentive program intact in 2009. The firm’s
top performers even received modest increases in salary. Founded and headed by renowned corporate and international business lawyers John Huang and Kevin Qian, MWE has established an advanced career development program that includes mentoring, training and formal evaluations. In addition, its strategic alliance with US firm McDermott Will & Emery has enabled the firm to offer international training and secondment opportunities across 16 MWE offices around the world, to many of its best performers. “We strongly believe in investing and creating a friendly and supportive working environment, wherein lawyers are highly motivated to provide our clients with the best possible legal services. It has also enabled our firm to become an attractive option for potential employees,” says Huang, MWE China’s founding partner. Many international firms have comprehensive graduate programs and career development planning in their home jurisdictions, but not many will offer the same programs in their China representative offices. Freshfields, voted as one of the most desirable international firms to work for in China, is one of the few firms that offer such programs. Each year, it hosts two graduate recruitment events in Beijing and Shanghai and recruits four to eight new graduates from the country’s top law schools. After working for a couple of years, the most promising junior legal staff will be sponsored by the firm to study law in the US, obtain an LLM degree and become New York-qualified lawyers. They will then
Freshfields' Shanghai team
32
ISSUE 7.3