Staying away - Hong Kong

Lawyers at the largest firms lead increasingly international careers. That can mean getting in early or staying late to be on a call, or jumping in a cab to get to the airport. But for some lawyers, visiting other countries is not enough – they want to stay. Peter Crossan is an associate in         Allen & Overy’s dynamic Hong Kong office and Alan Ewins is a partner there.

To many, Hong Kong has a mystique or an aura that few other places can rival. It’s a place where East doesn’t so much meet West as collide with it in a maelstrom of noise, colour and activity. So, it’s perhaps not without reason that a popular souvenir T-shirt brought back by visitors to the territory bears the slogan ‘I survived Hong Kong’.

“It’s a very competitive environment,” says Alan, whose relationship with the territory goes back to 1990 when he first went out there on a two-year secondment, working at the time for Simmons & Simmons. “More and more players are in the legal market, including the U.S., Australian and, on the horizon, Chinese firms. It’s not like London where your reputation carries you along – you have to fight for every piece of work.” “But,” he quickly adds, “that’s the fun, that’s the challenge.”

For Alan, those initial two years turned into five and then he joined A&O to set up the firm’s Regulatory practice in 1995, before becoming a partner in 1998. “In Hong Kong you have a lot of freedom to imprint yourself on the market; there are fewer day-to-day constraints on how you operate and, particularly now that I’m at a senior level, I can do what I feel is appropriate.”

Proving that making partner isn’t the end of the journey, Alan left Hong Kong in 2000, returning to the UK for eight years as a consultant in the Regulatory, Funds and Financial Products Group in the London Banking practice. However, Hong Kong exerts a fascination that is hard to resist and in 2008 he returned to the East again, this time as a partner.

Peter’s career, although much shorter, has also seen him making the most of the firm’s international network – or, to put it another way, bouncing around between locations. He joined the firm as a trainee in 2006, and after two seats in London, spent three months in Prague and then accepted a fourth-seat secondment in Hong Kong, before qualifying into the International Capital Markets practice. After six months in London he was off again, this time to Amsterdam for a year, and after another spell in London, he returned to Hong Kong in 2010.

“It was always in the back of my mind to come back here,” he says. “It’s just such a vibrant and exciting place to live. The work is interesting and the lifestyle is great fun.”

“At first it seems like a totally alien environment,” he continues. “The language, the food, the culture and the temperature – I’d forgotten how hot it gets here – but you quickly adapt. It’s not long before you are planning your first weekend away to one of the many exotic locations nearby.” It’s true, Hong Kong is not a bad place to go exploring from, with easy connections to mainland China, the Philippines, Bali, Thailand, Singapore and even Australia.

Peter lives in the centre of the city just outside the main financial district and only a 15-minute walk to work. “I love living in the heart of such an exciting and dynamic city,” he says, “but when the weekend comes, it’s easy to escape the hustle and head out to the countryside or one of the many beaches. The firm also retains a junk [a boat] that staff can charter for the day or the evening and have a party in the harbour or head up to the outlying islands for a spot of waterskiing or wakeboarding.”

Alan, on the other hand, with a family to share his love of Hong Kong, has opted for a more tranquil setting. “Where I live now,” he says, “it’s very green with views of the islands and the water, the beach is nearby and there are lovely walks – as long as you steer clear of the snakes. Even in such a small place it’s easy to find tremendous contrasts to the concrete, glass and neon of the city.”

Allen & Overy’s office in Hong Kong, established in 1988 and home to 129 lawyers, is the hub of the firm’s Asian network. Lawyers working there can expect to take on transactions that span the region with a particular focus on the booming Chinese economy. “There’s certainly a lot of money flowing around here at the moment,” says Peter, “and the economy is not in the doldrums like it is in the West. I work in the International Capital Markets department, focusing mostly on derivatives and structured finance, and there’s a lot of optimism in the market with the opportunities presented by the opening of the Chinese market and the positive economic growth from the region’s emerging markets.”

The trick to making the move a success – particularly with regard to work – they both say, is to go into it with enthusiasm and to leave your assumptions at the airport. “The legal framework is based on common law, like the UK,” says Alan, “so it seems familiar but there are subtle differences which means that a lot of your UK knowledge doesn’t apply. ‘Regulated activities’ or ‘asset management’ for example are familiar phrases, but they have completely different meanings here.”

“Coming to Hong Kong,” he continues, “is about grabbing opportunities, and not just the legal stuff. There are also fantastic social activities and an extremely active pro bono side to the office that will expose you to yet another aspect of Hong Kong that you might not encounter otherwise.”

Peter agrees. “We are involved in many innovative transactions which are often cross-jurisdictional and across product groups. This makes the work very interesting and means I am often working with many different colleagues within the Hong Kong office and also from across our Asia Pacific network,” he says. “But, above all, it’s the lifestyle and the people. You can combine an international, city-type role with a passion for sports, the outdoor life and travel.”

His advice to would-be trainees is to think not just about the location but also the practice areas and where you might want to qualify. “Talk to current trainees,” he says, “and try to get a feel for the work and the life they’re experiencing.”

“You have to embrace the culture,” advises Alan. “There are lots of familiar things – Marks & Spencer for example, or the fact that the roads work the same way, but it’s the differences that make it interesting and the fact that you can access travel and other experiences that are just not available in the UK.”

But there’s one piece of cultural assimilation that is beyond even this seasoned traveller. “You have to draw the line somewhere,” he says, “and for me it’s chicken’s feet for lunch (or, indeed, any time).”