Banking and finance practices are leading a strong recovery in the Hong Kong and Singapore legal job markets following the global financial crisis, with a resultant boost in salaries and continued demand from foreign lawyers for Asia-based roles.

Singaporen recruiter Chris Mead said banking and finance has “sprung back to life”, particularly in the private banking and wealth management space.

This has flowed through into increases in salaries from a minimum of 10 per cent up to 28 per cent for A-grade, high-end candidates, especially for lawyers with banking and finance and regulatory and compliance exposure at the 4-6 PQE level.

Mead says this means the market “has come full cycle” since the “big dive” induced by the crisis in 2008, with the current bounce boosting salaries to pre-crisis levels.

Despite recent global attention given to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, demand for candidates in the oil and gas sector in Asia also remains strong, while the life sciences sector, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals experience, is hot.

The jobs revival is boosting demand for foreign-qualified lawyers, particularly from the UK and Australia. “Australia and the UK produce good lawyers, and in Singapore they are particularly well received.” Mead says US lawyers “have a better hit rate” in Hong Kong, particularly among US companies with offices in the jurisdiction.

This demand is being met by candidates who are increasingly looking for Asian experience. “There is no doubt this is Asia’s century, and there is definitely a strong flow of candidate interest from places like Australia, the UK and Europe,” Mead said.

However, landing a role for candidates can still be a lengthy process when interview procedures are taken into account, and could take up to a number of months.