Any expat Lawyers here?

[farqu]

I’m currently 2PQE in a very in demand area of law. Cambridge educated & trained at a top US firm in London. Really enjoy my job but a bit bored of London.

Dream would be New York but that’s impossible with current visa rules there. I’m constantly bombarded with calls from recruiters trying to place me overseas.

Have been told about jobs in:

1. Cayman Islands (although would need to wait a few more years).
2. Bermuda
3. British Virgin Islands
4. Hong Kong
5. Singapore

We have travelled the Caribbean quite extensively but not been to any of those islands. Understand they’re tiny, especially BVI.

Hong Kong or Singapore sounds more fun, but colleagues who have been have said work culture is insane. That puts me off. Could potentially transfer internally.

Could any expat lawyers here detail how they’ve found it in their chosen location? Interested in hearing about anyone’s experience!

My DH is a solicitor and had a fantastic 8 years in Dubai. Only reason we returned was because we wanted our kids to finish their education in UK

Cousin works in Dubai and previously Abu Dhabi - amazing lifestyle

New Zealand. Was everything we’d hoped for. Work life balance was amazing.

The Neom project in Saudi was madly recruiting last year. Would be very interesting for a year or two

At your PQE you need to be driven more by the type of work you’ll be doing and the type of firm it is for, even the individual partners you’d be working for, not the location. Offshore work in the likes of BVI and Cayman is very niche, if it’s for you that’s great but you may end up stuck down a path that is going in the wrong direction and not doing work that inspires you.

I worked in Hong Kong for almost 10 years, but I was 7 years PQE when I went. It was a fantastic move that changed both career and personal life for the better. A close colleague went to Dubai at the same time and has also thrived. However we both were in a specialist area with clients in those locations who valued lawyers with London links. I’d choose Singapore these days over HK due to the political situation in HK (plus the food is amazing!).

In essence, I’d say yes, do it, but treat the choice of job exactly as rigorously as you would a change if firm in London, and think through the long term implications.
Hope that helps.

PS I can’t say I experienced “insane” work culture in Asia and I still work closely with our offices out there. I had it worse in the Magic Circle in London as a junior than I did in the silver circle in HK as a senior lawyer.

Thank you for the replies. Very helpful!

I went for a coffee with a lawyer who worked for a particularly well known off shore firm that I was considering. Apparently it was awful. Long hours, not enough staff, and regularly made people redundant. Plus, partners who were never in the office as were ‘working from home’ but from the UK.

Not a lawyer myself but am friends with lots of lawyers having done a law degree.

Friend A married an American, worked as a commercial lawyer in PP and in-house in England. Did the New York Bar exam and moved to Philadelphia, has had no trouble securing in-house roles in the US. Tends to work on a consultancy basis now (sometimes 2-3 roles at the same time!) and makes very good money.

Friend B, trained at magic circle, moved in-house in Dubai. Stayed there til kids were school age then moved back for English schools. Now in-house but not as a lawyer (having started with the bank as a lawyer) now a more ops role. Said Dubai was amazing and it really set them up financially (huge house and various investments and rentals).

Friend C, trained in a large regional law firm, then re-trained and went to the bar. Now a Partner for a firm in the BVi. Very niche, colonial culture almost. Poor infrastructure but the money is very good.

You need to think about what you want for your future. Where is best to build your career and when you transfer back (if you do) then at what PQE and what your long term aspirations are re: partnership. Agree with PP on looking at the quality of work and the Partner yoi will work for as that dictates the quality of work/training you’ll get. Good luck!

I’m not a lawyer but thought I would share my daughter’s experience and her boyfriend.

Dd trained at a top US firm in London and at qualification the team she wanted to qualify into had essentially collapsed. She had offers from other US firms and UK firms in London.

She was never a big city girl but enjoyed living in London. She was contacted by a recruiter who had a job in her field in the British Virgin Islands. After a lot of uhming and ahing she decided to take a risk and give it a shot.

She spent 2 years working out there and had a fantastic time. It’s very very different to London. She found the island too small which is why she came back, but for those two years she had an amazing experience. People were very friendly and the expat community were welcoming.

She has since returned to a US firm in London. Professionally, she says it was an excellent choice. She was given a lot better work earlier on, whereas people she knew who stayed in london at newly qualified were given a lot of grunt work. But she got to go to court a lot more and travelled to different offices.

When it comes to living costs and salaries, she actually took a pay cut by going there. After the 8-10% taxes however, her salary was pretty much the same. £150k in London gets the same take home as £90k in BVI.

The lifestyle she lived was fun for a couple of years. Before she left for the West Indies, she and her boyfriend (remote tech worker) were paying £2,500 a month for a small one bed near the office. In the Caribbean they had a gorgeous little villa with a private pool and sea views. They had a daily maid. Food was very expensive mind you, but when you’re 26 and child free earning £6k a month, you can absorb that cost more readily.

I’m sure someone will be along to say how awful of a time they had, and maybe Dd has only told me the positives, but when I visited, it looked like a fantastic experience for an ambitious lawyer for a few years.