Singapore’s legal industry is thriving if the results of the latest Asia Legal Jobs index are anything to go by. International recruitment firm Robert Walters has released job ad figures across all professional industries, and in Singapore the number of vacancies for lawyers and legal professionals has risen by 24 percent since quarter two. The large jump in vacancies comes from soaring demand for practitioners with experience in regulatory and compliance work, according to Robert Walters senior consultant (governance and legal divisions) Theresa Pang. “There’s been a lot of demand on the regulatory and compliance side, especially in the banking & financial services industry,” she said. Pang also said that while the recruitment market was expecting an increase in demand, no one had predicted a 24 percent rise, which she said was “unexpected”.

Pang also said that the vacancies she has are a good mix of newly created positions, such as in-house legal team extensions, and replacement roles where someone has moved on. Most of the in-house roles advertised are looking for lawyers with between four and six years PQE and are focused on the new international regulatory environment and relevant expertise to assist global financial institutions to comply.

Private practice demand and attrition have remained fairly constant, according to Pang. In general, within private practice recruitment has slowed slightly compared to the first half of the year when the market was more buoyant.

The news means the market is now favourable for in-house financial services industry candidates with regulatory experience. In this market, Pang said many are happy to sit tight and wait until the right opportunity comes along, one that provides a step up the career ladder.

Another trend Pang identified was a decrease in interest in hiring foreign trained lawyers who were not already based in Singapore. She said clients are looking for lawyers with Singapore experience to make the transition “much much smoother”.