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As law firms begin to emerge from the pandemic, they are confronting a whole new world when it comes to the aspirations and expectations of employees, and accordingly devising strategies to adapt to the same. The firms that pride themselves on talent attraction and retention will naturally go that extra length to be both proactive and innovative when it comes to top talent.

A law firm is only as good as the people that make up its team. Thus, firms are keen to recruit and retain the right talent to maintain their edge.

Asian Legal Business spoke to top firms about how they find and keep their talent. The upshot is that finding the right people can be a complex and nuanced process that can vary depending on the nature and goals of each firm.

Some firms take multiple approaches to hiring, depending on the level of the recruits.

“We hire talent through multiple platforms depending on experience levels. Fresh graduates are typically hired through campus recruitment from leading law schools in India or through our internship programme,” says Kavita Mathur, chief people officer at India’s Trilegal.

“Experienced hires are often introduced by our own lawyers through our firm’s internal referral program or by external recruitment partners. We also maintain a repository of resumes that candidates send us via our website and over email.”

Other firms find it helpful to start from management’s vision for their business and look for talent that fits within it.

“The starting point for all hiring decisions is the business plan for all practice areas that lists down the practice’s vision and the team composition required to implement that vision,” says Padmini Rathore, CEO of Indian law firm DSK Legal.

She describes her HR team’s approach as a mix of “push and pull” methods. This includes detailed job descriptions, posting job vacancies on multiple platforms, employee referral programmes within the firm, an internal database of applicants, networking, lateral hires from other firms and promoting the people-centric culture of the firm.

Mayer Brown recruits talent through various channels, such as LinkedIn job postings and direct approaches, featuring openings in the firm’s website and job boards, and through specialised recruitment agencies.

“At the beginning of 2022 we also enhanced the incentives employees could receive through our Employee Referral Programme,” says Kate Hollis, director of human resources for Asia at Mayer Brown.

It’s one thing to find talent, but another to keep it in the firm.

Mayer Brown looks to enhance the employee experience and work life in three main areas: employee engagement, career and personal development, and compensation and benefits.

It does so by offering a flexible work policy, supporting overseas temporary remote working arrangements, enhanced maternity leave benefits, and even internal redeployment to overseas offices. It also has in place well-being programs and initiatives, covering mental, physical, and financial well-being.

“We have recently conducted Mental Health First Aider Training for the second year and now have 31 qualified mental health first aiders,” says Hollis.

Rathore also has a “holistic programme” in place at DSK Legal that covers the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of its associates. “A comprehensive employee retention program is a crucial differentiator in the talent management of firms. Retaining top talents helps in establishing an engaged and productive workforce,” she says.

Rathore cites some employee engagement initiatives, such as regular one-on-one performance reviews, mentor-mentee programmes, and access to certified coaches.

Some of the steps to retain talent is to cover the basics of providing a safe and enjoyable workplace. “At Trilegal, we have several initiatives focused on the well-being and welfare of our talent such as flexible working hours, need-based leave to support personal emergencies, and the flexibility to work from different locations,” says Mathur.


 

THE LIST

TOP 50 FIRMS (INTERNATIONAL)

2022

Firm

Headquarters

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Baker McKenzie

U.S.

333

556

1045

2

Linklaters

UK

70

272

375

3

Clifford Chance

UK

74

255

329

4

Allen & Overy

UK

69

183

305

5

Herbert Smith Freehills

UK/Australia

78

92

241

6

Mayer Brown

U.S.

85

133

229

7

Ashurst

UK

52

146

198

8

HFW

UK

34

55

198

9

Sidley Austin

U.S.

34

123

183

10

Morrison & Foerster

U.S.

59

117

181

11

Withersworldwide

UK

66

114

180

12

Norton Rose Fulbright

UK

65

98

180

13

White & Case

U.S.

60

120

180

14

K&L Gates

U.S.

64

67

152

15

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

UK

41

86

146

16

Stephenson Harwood

UK

48

95

143

17

DLA Piper

UK/U.S.

55

29

135

18

Hogan Lovells

UK/U.S.

42

65

134

19

Morgan Lewis & Bockius

U.S.

38

92

130

20

Bird & Bird

UK

32

91

130

21

Latham & Watkins

U.S.

45

71

128

22

Kennedys

UK

35

88

123

23

Reed Smith

U.S.

43

72

121

24

Kirkland & Ellis

U.S.

31

67

116

25

Jones Day

U.S.

49

55

104

26

Clyde & Co

U.S.

26

38

99

27

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

U.S.

17

75

92

28

Paul Hastings

U.S.

15

44

89

29

Watson Farley & Williams

UK

22

34

87

30

Cooley

U.S.

16

47

86

31

CMS

UK/Germany

27

58

85

32

Squire Patton Boggs

U.S.

40

35

82

33

Davis Polk & Wardwell

U.S.

19

49

81

34

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

U.S.

25

37

80

35

Pinsent Masons

UK

24

56

80

36

Ropes & Gray

U.S.

21

47

79

37

O'Melveny & Myers

U.S.

25

25

76

38

Simmons & Simmons

UK

31

44

75

39

Ince

UK

13

23

74

40

Shearman & Sterling

U.S.

17

51

70

41

Duane Morris & Selvam

U.S.

10

32

65

42

Eversheds Sutherland

U.S./UK

21

48

63

43

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

U.S.

6

52

58

44

Slaughter & May

UK

14

35

53

45

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

U.S.

13

12

50

46

Milbank

U.S.

13

30

48

47

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe

UK

16

11

46

48

King & Spalding

U.S.

13

22

36

49

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison

U.S.

7

19

34

50

Taylor Wessing

UK

17

10

31

 

TOP 50 FIRMS (DOMESTIC)

2022

Firm

Headquarters

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Yingke Law Firm 盈科律师事务所

China

1380

11716

13096

2

Dentons China 大成律师事务所

China

2119

4933

7203

3

Jingsh Law Firm 京师律师事务所

China

452

5243

5696

4

DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所

China

892

3041

3933

5

AllBright Law Offices 锦天城律师事务所

China

846

2753

3642

6

W&H Law Firm  炜衡律师事务所

China

513

2678

3197

7

Tahota Law Firm 泰和泰律师事务所

China

821

2158

3178

8

Grandall Law Firm 国浩律师事务所

China

1107

1943

3071

9

Beijing DHH Law Firm 北京德和衡律师事务所

China

184

2447

2674

10

King & Wood Mallesons 金杜律师事务所

China

474

1865

2404

11

Zhonglun W&D Law Firm 中伦文德律师事务所

China

671

1650

2376

12

Zhong Lun Law Firm 中伦律师事务所

China

388

1861

2249

13

China Commercial Law Firm 华商律师事务所

China

256

1649

2205

14

Long An Law Firm 隆安律师事务所

China

493

1348

1995

15

Zhong Yin Law Firm 中银律师事务所

China

502

1437

1947

16

Hui Ye Law Firm 汇业律师事务所

China

453

1357

1875

17

HengDu Law Firm 恒都律师事务所

China

309

1393

1702

18

Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm 金诚同达律师事务所

China

468

991

1678

19

Zhong Wen Law Firm 中闻律师事务所

China

423

1198

1621

20

Hylands Law Firm 浩天律师事务所

China

436

1008

1478

21

Hansheng Law Offices 汉盛律师事务所

China

463

892

1355

22

Hiways Law Firm 海华永泰律师事务所

China

360

893

1349

23

Shanghai City Development Law Firm 上海市建纬律师事务所

China

302

987

1302

24

SGLA Law Firm 中联律师事务所

China

245

1019

1276

25

Guantao Law Firm 观韬中茂律师事务所

China

371

870

1247

26

TianTai Law Firm 天驰君泰律师事务所

China

383

782

1236

27

Mingju Law Firm 四川明炬律师事务所

China

148

920

1159

28

Kim & Chang

Korea

210

910

1120

29

Guanghe Law Firm 广东广和律师事务所

China

191

840

1081

30

Khaitan & Co

India

223

770

1010

31

JunHe LLP 君合律师事务所

China

255

696

969

32

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

India

160

750

910

33

Tian Yuan Law Firm 天元律师事务所

China

211

673

884

34

ETR Law Firm 广信君达律师事务所

China

164

689

853

35

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

India

161

629

786

36

Nishimura & Asahi

Japan

225

469

780

37

Sunhold Law Firm 申浩律师事务所

China

87

680

776

38

Guangdong Kingbridge Law Firm 广东金桥百信律师事务所

China

112

603

766

39

Rajah & Tann

Singapore

261

424

685

40

Han Kun Law Offices 汉坤律师事务所

China

141

541

682

41

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Japan

166

427

676

42

Capital Equity Legal Group 京衡律师事务所

China

86

584

670

43

Jingtian & Gongcheng 竞天公诚律师事务所

China

171

479

650

44

Bae Kim & Lee

Korea

292

346

638

45

Lee & Ko

Korea

282

352

634

46

Shin & Kim

Korea

275

325

607

47

Yulchon

Korea

248

359

607

48

Allen & Gledhill

Singapore

198

388

599

49

Rahmat Lim & Partners

Malaysia

197

388

599

50

V&T Law Firm 万商天勤律师事务所

China

157

418

581

 

CHINA (INTERNATIONAL)

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Clifford Chance

11

53

64

2

Cooley

6

26

48

3

Morgan Lewis & Bockius

8

39

47

4

Paul Hastings

4

10

43

5

DLA Piper

20

2

40

6

Bird & Bird

8

24

38

7

Sidley Austin

4

29

37

8

Baker McKenzie

9

21

34

9

Watson Farley & Williams

6

11

30

10

Herbert Smith Freehills

16

8

28

11

CMS

7

19

26

12

White & Case

5

19

24

13

O'Melveny Myers

7

6

23

14

Pinsent Masons

5

18

23

15

Ropes &Gray

4

12

23

16

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2

17

23

17

Clyde & Co.

7

15

22

18

K&L Gates

9

10

20

19

Ashurst

3

16

19

20

Hogan Lovells

10

5

18

21

HFW

4

12

16

22

Norton Rose Fulbright

4

11

15

23

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

5

9

14

24

Reed Smith

5

4

14

25

Morrison & Foerster

4

9

14

26

Spruson & Ferguson

2

12

14

27

Deacons

 0

14

14

28

Eversheds Sutherland

2

11

13

29

Shearman & Sterling

1

11

13

30

Mayer Brown

5

6

11

 

CHINA (DOMESTIC)

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Yingke Law Firm 盈科律师事务所

1380

11716

13096

2

Dentons China 大成律师事务所

2119

4933

7203

3

Jingsh Law Firm 京师律师事务所

452

5243

5696

4

DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所

892

3041

3933

5

AllBright Law Offices 锦天城律师事务所

846

2753

3642

6

W&H Law Firm  炜衡律师事务所

513

2678

3197

7

Tahota Law Firm 泰和泰律师事务所

821

2158

3178

8

Grandall Law Firm 国浩律师事务所

1107

1943

3071

9

Beijing DHH Law Firm 北京德和衡律师事务所

184

2447

2674

10

King & Wood Mallesons 金杜律师事务所

474

1865

2404

11

Zhonglun W&D Law Firm 中伦文德律师事务所

671

1650

2376

12

Zhong Lun Law Firm 中伦律师事务所

388

1861

2249

13

China Commercial Law Firm 华商律师事务所

256

1649

2205

14

Long An Law Firm 隆安律师事务所

493

1348

1995

15

Zhong Yin Law Firm 中银律师事务所

502

1437

1947

16

Hui Ye Law Firm 汇业律师事务所

453

1357

1875

17

HengDu Law Firm 恒都律师事务所

309

1393

1702

18

Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm 金诚同达律师事务所

468

991

1678

19

Zhong Wen Law Firm 中闻律师事务所

423

1198

1621

20

Hylands Law Firm 浩天律师事务所

436

1008

1478

21

Hansheng Law Offices 汉盛律师事务所

463

892

1355

22

Hiways Law Firm 海华永泰律师事务所

360

893

1349

23

Shanghai City Development Law Firm 上海市建纬律师事务所

302

987

1302

24

SGLA Law Firm 中联律师事务所

245

1019

1276

25

Guantao Law Firm 观韬中茂律师事务所

371

870

1247

26

TianTai Law Firm 天驰君泰律师事务所

383

782

1236

27

Mingju Law Firm 四川明炬律师事务所

148

920

1159

28

Guanghe Law Firm 广东广和律师事务所

191

840

1081

29

JunHe LLP 君合律师事务所

255

696

969

30

Tian Yuan Law Firm 天元律师事务所

211

673

884

 

HONG KONG (INTERNATIONAL)

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

King & Wood Mallesons

43

197

240

2

Mayer Brown

63

110

184

3

Baker McKenzie

54

93

181

4

Linklaters

33

145

178

5

Clifford Chance

34

103

137

6

Allen & Overy

25

48

110

7

Sidley Austin

18

71

105

8

Kirkland & Ellis

29

29

88

9

Herbert Smith Freehills

20

60

86

10

Ashurst

20

60

80

11

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

24

45

77

12

Reed Smith

25

43

72

13

Latham & Watkins

23

39

69

14

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in Hong Kong

12

54

66

15

Davis Polk & Wardwell

9

45

66

16

DLA Piper

27

15

64

17

Eversheds Sutherland

19

31

61

18

Norton Rose Fulbright

21

30

59

19

White & Case

18

36

54

20

Slaughter & May

13

38

54

 

HONG KONG (DOMESTIC)

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Deacons

55

121

199

2

Woo Kwan Lee & Lo

32

33

82

3

Li & Partners

7

69

76

4

Stevenson Wong & Co

15

32

57

5

P.C. Woo & Co

14

33

54

6

ONC Lawyers

17

21

45

7

Gallant

14

31

45

8

Tanner De Witt

14

24

43

9

Wilkinson & Grist

18

11

35

10

Robertsons

14

18

35

 

INDIA

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Khaitan & Co

223

770

1010

2

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

160

750

910

3

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

161

629

786

4

Trilegal

82

615

697

5

AZB & Partners

115

409

524

6

IndusLaw

57

345

402

7

JSA

117

258

275

8

DSK Legal

63

207

270

9

S&A Law Offices

19

221

240

10

L&L Partners

79

160

239

11

Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

42

62

225

12

Desai & Diwanji

38

184

222

13

Link Legal India Law Services

38

170

208

14

Fox Mandal & Associates LLP

28

186

207

15

Kochhar & Co

46

145

191

16

Dua Associates

72

104

176

17

Anand and Anand

36

129

165

18

Economic Laws Practice

42

101

160

19

HSA Advocates

29

120

149

20

Wadia Ghandy & Co

36

98

134

21

Singhania & Co

12

100

112

22

Vaish Associates

12

93

105

23

Argus Partners

18

74

92

24

Phoenix Legal

12

75

87

25

Bharucha & Partners

13

70

83

26

Dhir & Dhir

11

67

78

27

Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe

11

65

76

28

Nishith Desai Associates

8

64

72

29

S K Singhi & Co

3

63

66

30

Singhania & Partners

15

45

60

 

INDONESIA

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Assegaf Hamzah & Partners (Rajah & Tann)

33

111

144

2

Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo

7

107

115

3

ABNR Counsellors at Law

20

86

106

4

Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners (a member firm of Baker McKenzie International)

16

71

94

5

Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners (Dentons HPRP)

19

69

71

6

UMBRA – Strategic Legal Solutions

11

58

69

7

SSEK Legal Consultants

14

53

68

8

Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung

11

37

55

9

Mochtar Karuwin Komar

5

45

50

10

Soemadipradja & Taher (Allen & Gledhill network firm)

10

34

47

 

JAPAN (INTERNATIONAL)

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Baker McKenzie

51

76

159

2

Morrison & Foerster

36

65

101

3

Clifford Chance

7

33

40

4

White & Case

15

24

39

5

Squire Patton Boggs

16

8

29

6

Hogan Lovells

6

13

27

7

Linklaters

4

21

27

8

K&L Gates

12

10

26

9

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

10

12

25

10

DLA Piper

6

13

24

11

Withersworldwide

10

9

22

12

Herbert Smith Freehills

5

15

22

13

Allen & Overy

6

10

19

14

King & Wood Mallesons

5

13

18

15

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe

7

7

17

16

Jones Day

5

4

17

17

Morgan Lewis & Bockius

7

9

16

18

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

4

12

16

19

Ashurst

6

9

15

20

Shearman & Sterling

5

7

12

 

JAPAN (DOMESTIC)

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Nishimura & Asahi

189

381

633

2

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

132

322

517

3

TMI Associates

145

328

516

4

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune

195

293

509

5

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

129

319

490

6

Atsumi & Sakai

96

83

198

7

City-Yuwa Partners

80

68

172

8

Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners

62

64

159

9

Kitahama Partners

41

45

97

10

Nakamura & Partners

44

32

80

 

MALAYSIA

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Zaid Ibrahim & Co (ZICO Law)

63

73

136

2

Skrine

43

68

115

3

Shearn Delamore

44

66

110

4

Zul Rafique & Partners

34

59

93

5

Adnan Sundra & Low

14

74

90

8

Christopher & Lee Ong (Rajah & Tann)

40

48

89

6

Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill

31

57

88

7

Rahmat Lim & Partners (Allen & Gledhill associate firm)

28

60

88

9

Raja, Darryl & Loh

25

47

72

10

Wong & Partners (member firm of Baker McKenzie)

15

33

54

 

PHILIPPINES

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

ACCRALAW

56

78

145

2

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

43

72

122

3

Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura

50

37

93

4

Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia

29

41

70

5

DivinaLaw

19

36

69

6

Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio (C&G Law) (Rajah & Tann)

17

44

62

7

Villaraza & Angangco

21

39

60

8

Puno & Puno Law Offices

18

37

55

9

Quisumbing Torres

23

30

53

10

Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos

30

18

51

 

SINGAPORE

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Allen & Gledhill

151

272

429

2

Rajah & Tann

157

170

332

3

WongPartnership

117

215

332

4

Drew & Napier

114

154

331

5

Dentons Rodyk

93

84

179

6

Shook Lin & Bok

61

80

141

7

Baker Mckenzie Wong & Leow

33

83

134

8

Withers Khattarwong

32

63

95

9

Clifford Chance

20

61

87

10

Harry Elias Partnership

24

54

78

11

Allen & Overy

15

58

75

12

Stephenson Harwood Alliance

21

46

67

13

Norton Rose Fulbright

15

46

61

14

RHTlaw

23

23

58

15

Bird & Bird ATMD

14

36

50

16

Oon & Bazul

19

29

48

17

K&L Gates Straits Law

16

24

48

18

Herbert Smith Freehills

14

15

47

19

White & Case

14

31

45

20

Ashurst

15

25

40

 

SOUTH KOREA

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Kim & Chang

210

910

1120

2

Lee & Ko

280

342

622

3

Bae Kim & Lee

280

336

616

4

Yulchon

245

350

595

5

Shin & Kim

268

312

587

6

Yoon & Yang

161

324

485

7

Jipyong

6

310

316

8

Barun Law

6

240

246

9

DR & AJU

115

90

211

10

HMP Law

47

73

120

 

THAILAND

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Tilleke & Gibbins

24

87

116

2

Weerawong, Chinnavat & Partners

13

100

113

3

Chandler MHM

19

85

104

4

Baker Mckenzie

59

27

88

5

SCL Nishimura

10

53

63

6

Rajah & Tann Thailand

12

42

56

7

Allen & Overy

4

27

36

8

Hunton Andrews Kurth

5

22

32

9

Watson Farley & Williams

6

23

30

10

DFDL

8

21

29

 

VIETNAM

2022

Firm

Total
Partners

Total
Associates

Total Lawyers

1

Vision & Associates

14

88

102

2

Vilaf

15

78

93

3

Tilleke & Gibbins

5

53

60

4

Baker McKenzie (Vietnam)

7

32

52

5

LNT & Partners

9

41

50

6

YKVN

10

25

39

7

Global Vietnam Lawyers

8

15

38

8

Dentons LuatViet

3

28

31

9

DFDL

6

23

29

10

Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers

8

14

24

 

 

 

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