Everything in America seems bigger and better, and the same can be said for its legal industry. Supersized law firms in the US take on the biggest deals for the highest paydays.

For Australian lawyers feeling held back by the comparatively small local legal market, the US is the place to go – and luckily for these ambitious spirits, the once notoriously difficult work visa application has recently been made easier.

“The US market is opening up to Australians, particular as the ease of the E-3 visa [a work visa only available to Australian nationals] becomes more widely known,” says Taylor Root consultant Catherine Davies.

“Australian nationals with a degree and a job offer relevant to that degree are generally entitled to a two-year rolling E-3 visa.”

However, that’s not to suggest the transition is easy – lawyers arriving on US shores will find the market is tight, competition is tough and opportunities may be few and far between.

Far and wide

There’s no denying that America is a big country with lots of people – its population size is more than 12 times that of Australia. However, there are some areas of America where the legal market is better than others, and opportunities for foreign lawyers can be sparse beyond the big cities.

All of the major metropolitan areas are relatively active, according to Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie partner David Malliband.

New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Chicago, Washington DC and Boston are some of the busiest cities, with a raft of work available including public and private M&A, project finance, real estate, patent litigation and white-collar defence.

K&L Gates chairman and global managing partner Peter Kalis said that New York and Washington are always active, being the hotspots for finance and government.

“The regional markets all have global players and will vary in their degrees of activity. For example, Seattle is hot with Amazon, Microsoft and other technology sector players leading the way,” he says.

“With the collapse of oil pricing, Houston is less hot. Pistons up and pistons down.”

Ms Davies says that the level and type of work seen across the country is often closely linked to economic activity.

“Transactional lawyers, whether in banking and finance, funds or corporate M&A, are still most in demand,” she adds.

By contrast, Mr Kalis noted that the government’s regulation of private markets is oblivious to business cycles.

“Thus regulatory engagements, independent investigations resulting from anti-corruption initiatives and policy work are in ascendancy,” he says.

“Bankruptcy is showing a resurgence, especially in the energy sector. M&A and commercial litigation are cooling a bit. Intellectual property remains solid.”

Wherever you go, those lawyers who manage to land a position are likely to be well compensated. While there is variation, of course, salaries for lawyers are generally higher in the US, especially in private practice, according to Mr Malliband.

“Large firms in the major markets start their graduates on US$160,000 [approximately A$218,000], whereas in Australia, this figure is closer to A$75,000,” he says.

“However, the expectation of working hours is greater in the US than in Australia.”

Tight market

While these figures are tempting, the reality is the legal employment market in the US is tight.

“The imbalance between supply and demand created by the GFC persists,” Mr Kalis says.

“This imbalance creates an obstacle to the hiring of American lawyers in the US and thus a fortiori to the hiring of Australian lawyers in the US.”

Ms Davies says the lawyers with the best chance of landing a role would be transactional lawyers from top-tier firms with at least five years’ experience behind them, and that larger law firms with international offices tend to be more open to hiring Australian lawyers.

However, Mr Malliband believes that the best opportunities for Australian lawyers are in smaller firms.

“There is a surplus of lawyers relative to the number of opportunities in big law firms,” he says.

“Opportunities exist, however, in smaller firms, local firms, public interest, etc.”

Mr Kalis brings a third opinion, saying that Australians looking for work in America should keep ties to their homeland.

“My sense is that firms with significant Asia-Pacific practices, especially those with an Australian presence, would be good targets for Australian lawyers, as Australian hires could help with cross-border engagements,” he says.

He adds that while the absolute number of in-house opportunities is currently small, that number may rise.

“As the legal market globalises, there should be an increasing number of inhouse openings for Australian lawyers,” he says.

But Ms Davies emphasises the competition for in-house roles is tough, and Australian lawyers might not get lucky.

“The competition for good in-house roles is extremely high in the US and they would likely take someone who already has US work experience,” she says.

Tricky transition

The US is known for being particularly hard to get a working visa for, but the introduction of the E-3 visa through the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement has made it easier.

“Although obtaining employment=authorised visa status to live and work in the US has never been more challenging, the process has been substantially simplified for Australians by virtue of the free trade agreement with the US,” Mr Malliband says.

“The E-3 category is available to professionals with university degrees who are offered positions in the US that normally require at least a Bachelor’s Degree in a specialty field for entrance into the occupation.”

Mr Kalis says: “It is definitely easier for Australians to obtain US work visas compared to citizens of most other countries.”

On top of organising a work visa, Australian lawyers will have to think about getting qualified to practice in America.

“While there seems to be a general movement towards loosening up some of these restrictions for non-US lawyers to get admitted in the US, this is a slow process,” Mr Malliband says.

“Historically, it was easier to be accepted to sit the California or New York bar exams as a foreign lawyer, although the exams themselves are notoriously quite difficult,” he says.

“Other states have their own rules – many require a US JD, or a certain number of years practising as an admitted attorney in another US state, before allowing admission.”

On top of these larger difficulties, Mr Malliband says Aussie lawyers also must remember the little things like switching to US English.

“In all, Australian lawyers can expect a thriving, sophisticated and highly litigious legal landscape in the US that continually generates frontier and big-ticket work,” he says.

“Americans are a patriotic, respectful and overly courteous bunch who will be fascinated by your journey over the Pacific no matter where you end up.”

Mr Kalis suggests US and Australian lawyers would share a similar outlook, with both being known for enjoying working hard but also having fun at and after work.

“My advice is to look for kindred spirits and to stay clear of the twits – unless you are one yourself,” he jokes.