US law firms have made a clean sweep of the 2011 ALB China Employer of Choice Awards, taking out all five positions in the international firm category for mainland China.
Jones Day, China’s fifth largest international firm based on lawyer headcount, has placed first in the international firm category for 2011. John Kao, partner in charge of the firm’s Beijing office, the firm strives to provide employees with a good work environment, solid experiences and training, and a firm career path. “We spend more time in the office than we do anywhere else so we want to create a better working environment. It’s an ongoing effort,” Kao says.
The largest international firm in China, Baker & McKenzie, retains its second place ranking from 2010. The firm’s Asia Pacific Regional Chairman, Jeremy Pitts, believes the high quality of work, international opportunities, competitive salary and comprehensive training and development offered to employees contributed to Baker & McKenzie being named an employer of choice.
Davis Polk joins the list in third place. Respondents from the firm told ALB they appreciate the quality of work offered by the elite US firm. “You practice for long hours so it’s important to have interesting work,” says He Li, an Associate at the firm’s Beijing office. He says the platform, culture and cutting-edge work provided at Davis Polk make it a truly remarkable place to work. Partner Howard Zhang says the firm is dedicated to attracting, motivating and retaining the best lawyers.
O’Melveny & Myers, and Cleary Gottlieb came in fourth and fifth, respectively completing the US rout. Michael Preston, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb’s Hong Kong office, says the firm offers a diverse range of work to lawyers at all stages of their career and monitors workloads to prevent staff becoming over-burdened. Preston adds that the workplace has a friendly, collegial atmosphere and a non-hierarchical structure that encourages all staff to openly share ideas. “The practice of law is an increasingly demanding career, with ever more sophisticated and complex transactions being executed in ever shorter timeframes. However, proper management of these demands can create an environment that is challenging, stimulating and rewarding,” says Preston.
Across the Lo Wu, the story was only marginally better for British law firms. Baker & McKenzie was voted the best international law firm to work in the SAR, while LInklaters came in second. Australian law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques came in third, while transatlantic player Mayer Brown JSM rounded off the list coming in at fourth place.
Kathryn Crossley
This is an edited extract from the 2011 ALB China Employer of Choice Awards. Further details of the awards will appear in issue 8.4 of ALB China Magazine.
