Herbert Smith Freehills is recruiting an Associate to join our market-leading international arbitration team in Singapore.
We are ranked as a top tier firm by both Chambers and Legal 500 and described as a "dispute resolution powerhouse that consistently tops the rankings". With our hub in Singapore and colleagues in Bangkok and Jakarta, we are the region's pre-eminent specialist for complex international disputes. We work alongside our outstanding commercial litigation, enforcement and restructuring practices in Singapore (through Herbert Smith Freehills Prolegis, our FLA), Thailand and Indonesia, as well as our disputes colleagues in Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan.
The team is high-performing, ambitious, multilingual and (importantly) friendly, including lawyers who are admitted to practice in a variety of jurisdictions including England, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and the BVI.
Our clients include global and regional investors, multi-national corporations, governments and state-owned entities. We are proud to work with many of the largest Asian companies, as well as the largest private capital funds deploying across the region. We work on disputes arising from their international trade and investments, with a strong focus on the energy, infrastructure, technology and finance sectors alongside broader commercial and industrial cases. Our work includes shareholder, JV and M&A disputes, gas pricing and other commodity related disputes, construction and concession disputes and commercial frauds.
You will relish the responsibility of operating as a senior lawyer directing and overseeing junior colleagues effectively and respectfully, but you will still work closely and collaboratively with partners and other senior colleagues.
To be successful in this role, you should have:
- High academic achievement and current bar admission (common or civil law accepted)
- At least 5 years of post-qualification experience (by English equivalent)
- Substantial experience, knowledge and confidence in the theory and practice of international commercial and/or investment arbitration
- A very high level of skill in the analysis of issues and evidence, legal drafting, strategic and tactical planning, effective case management and presentation, and (ideally) oral advocacy and cross-examination
- Experience in developing client and industry relationships
- Exceptional communication and time management skills
- Self-motivation, willingness and enthusiasm to challenge yourself
- A sense of humour and readiness to work collaboratively in a friendly, high-performing team
- Ideally, multi-lingual skills and experience working in more than one country and culture (this would be a substantial advantage, but is not a requirement)
You will be part of a diverse, innovative culture where high performance, client focus and highly engaged people are our differentiator. We come from a range of backgrounds and bring a wide variety of experiences and perspectives to our work together and for our clients. Our inclusive environment ensures you feel valued and able to perform at your best by being your true and authentic self at work. We know that our future success depends on our people feeling engaged in meaningful work.
Finally, we understand that you have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to create a working environment based on mutual trust and respect, in which you can perform at your best whilst maintaining sustainable balance across your life.