今年五月起，香港放宽了境外人员入港政策，允许非香港居民由海外入境。法律行业招聘专家认为，宽松的防疫政策将使香港迎来“越来越多的外国人才”。
新冠疫情爆发后的两年里，香港一直实施着世界上最严格的防疫政策。据媒体报道，这已经迫使一些金融、法律等专业服务行业的从业者离开香港，导致这座城市遭遇人才缺失。一些律所也转变了招聘策略。PageGroup旗下高级人才招聘部门Page Executive的合伙人Janet Chan女士告诉ALB，在此背景下，本地律师更受青睐，因为他们更可能稳定地在律所执业更长时间。
尽管一些外国律师已经离开，香港的外国律师人才库其实远未枯竭。Chan表示，当律所需要招聘外国律师时，香港仍然有“相当多的人选”。在这些人当中，有不少已经在香港工作了十年或更长时间。
法律招聘公司SD Legal的总经理Gareth Dowse告诉ALB，这在一定程度上要归功于美国和英国的大型律师事务所对人才的长期投入，使得律师在这座城市获得职业发展，从助理律师一路成长为合伙人。
Dowse还表示，随着防疫措施的放宽，律所在香港寻求扩张时，将得以从更多的候选人中进行挑选。他说：“国际所仍对香港作为国际商业中心的地位持相当积极的态度，它们在招聘律师方面一直很活跃。”
Chan也同意这一看法。她告诉ALB：“政策放宽后，来自外国的候选人入港工作的难度将减小。据我预计，银行业、衍生品和数据隐私、网络安全以及科技等领域将迎来不少新人才。”
Lifting of restrictions will bring in more lawyers, but HK already has a solid pool
In early May, Hong Kong lifted its ban on the entry of professionals from overseas. For two years, the city has had some of the world's strictest COVID-19 rules, which led media to speculate that there would be a talent crunch in industries such as finance and legal. Now with the restrictions easing, legal recruiters expect to see an “increasing influx of talent” from abroad.
The difficulties of the past year have certainly made law firms in Hong Kong rethink their hiring strategies. Janet Chan, head of legal practice of Page Executive, tells ALB that the firms have developed a stronger preference for local candidates as they are more stable and more likely to stay for a longer period of time.
Having said that, Hong Kong’s talent pool of foreign lawyers is nowhere close to emptying, despite the exits of some expats. Chan says that when law firms look at overseas practitioners, there is still “a decent supply” of candidates in the city, many of whom have been in Hong Kong a decade or more.
Gareth Dowse, managing director at SD Legal, believes this is partly due to the long-term investments in talent by large U.S. and UK law firms, who have developed lawyers from associates to partners.
Dowse says that as the restrictions lift, law firms will be able to select from wider pool of candidates as they look to expand in Hong Kong. “International law firms are still positive about Hong Kong’s position as a hub for international business, and they are maintaining a good level of hiring,” he says.
This is echoed by Chan, who says: “With these restrictions being lifted, it makes it easier for foreign candidates to relocate to HK and physically start work… I foresee banking, derivatives and data privacy, cybersecurity, and tech will be the practices with new talents coming into HK.”
