Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HONG KONG
Nathan has a number of exclusive client relationships, centered around MNC’s, SME’s and Family offices.
This network is built on foundations of successful hiring and industry recommendations, please click here for
more details.
The SD Legal database has a number of exclusive relationships with lawyers from across the region, as well
as being a first port of call for lawyers looking to move and/or return to Asia. What makes this database
different is the weekly contact made by Nathan to each member, allowing hiring managers to access
lawyers who are perhaps not actively searching for a new role, but ‘open’ to exciting opportunities.
Positions we can assist with include: General Counsel, Legal Director, Senior Legal Counsel, Regional Counsel.
Other niche areas include: Head of Compliance, Trade Compliance, Employment Lawyers and IP specialists.
Pay: $60,000 - $80,000 Per Month Pay: $80,000 - $100,000 Per Month
Languages: English / Cantonese and potentially Mandarin Languages: English and Mandarin (required 90% of the time)
Industry examples: Retail, Logistics, Media, Telecoms, Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates, Established
Medical Devices Fintech, Established Funds / Family Office
Work: General Corporate / Commercial (limited trans- Work: Transactional and Regulatory focus
actional work)
Hours of work: 9am – 8pm
Hours of work: 9am – 6pm
Background: Lawyers will be trained in a Corporate team,
Background: Lawyers will be educated in Hong Kong and working at an international law firm, often tier 1 such as
likely to be trained at a local law firm Magic Circle / US
Lawyers may also be from overseas, relocating to Hong Lawyers can converse fully in English and Chinese, demon-
Kong with a spouse which often suits positions where strate strong technical training and possess excellent soft
English is the only language required skills to deal directly with key stakeholders
Benefits: Culture, w/l balance and flexibility are high on Benefits: Work is often focused on ground-breaking transac-
both the candidate and employer’s agenda tional projects across Asia
Senior Legal Counsel (6-12 PQE)
Pay: $85,000 - $105,000 Per Month Pay: $100,000 - $140,000 Per Month
Languages: English / Cantonese and likely Mandarin Languages: English and Mandarin (required 90% of the time)
Industry examples: Retail, Logistics, Media, Telecoms, Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates, Established
Medical Devices Fintech, Established Funds / Family Office
Work: General Corporate / Commercial (limited trans- Work: Transactional and Regulatory focus
actional work), Team management, Collaboration with
other offices and senior stakeholders Hours of work: 9am – 8pm
Pay: $120,000 - $140,000 Per Month Pay: $150,000 - $180,000 Per Month
Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing) Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing)
Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates and MNC’s Industry examples: Tech, Funds / Family Offices
Work: General Corporate / Commercial (some transactional Work: Transactional / Regulatory focused. Often includes
work), Team management, Key role as part of the global areas such as Fund raising, Stock listing, M&A, JV, Licence /
legal leadership team Govt work
Background: Lawyers will be leaders, In-House, demon- Background: Lawyers will be leaders, In-House and hands on
strating all skills mentioned above. The background will be with transactional work
stable with a ‘hands on’ work ethic
Lawyers will take a senior approach to work with delegation
Typically, successful candidates feel more comfortable of short term actions to subordinates (if no team exists, this
when working for Hong Kong / Chinese focused businesses will be external counsel)
Benefits: Leading the legal function for Asia, managing a Benefits: LTI’s will be lucrative with excellent exposure to
small team of 1-3 and oversight of 2-3 regional offices C-Level stakeholders aligned to the project
APAC General Counsel / Group General Counsel (20-25+ PQE)
Pay: $170,000 - $200,000 Per Month Pay: $200,000 - $280,000 Per Month*
*Exceptions occur with some Legal Leaders in Hong Kong
Bonus: 40%++ Long term incentive (LIT’s) receiving 25-30% above this range
Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing) Bonus: 50-100% + Long Term Incentives (LTI’s)
Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates and MNC’s Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing)
Typically, candidates will have stable CV’s working for a Lawyers will form part of the senior management team and
successful company with direct reporting lines to the CEO have direct access to the board of directors. Lawyers will also
have significant influence over the commercial and opera-
tional sides of business