Off the coast of Malaysia is a tiny island roughly the size of Canberra that 5.5 million people call home – many of them expats from all around the world.

For Australians, Singapore is just far away enough to have the allure of an overseas adventure while still close enough for regular trips to visit family and friends.
With this in mind, Australian lawyers are increasingly taking on the challenge of practising international law at global firms in Singapore.

In 2006, Melburnian lawyer Ian Stewart was sent to Singapore on a six-week secondment with his firm Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens). Fast forward nine years and he is still there, working as a partner at Clyde & Co Clasis LLC.

“I’m very much one of those lawyers who was attracted to Singapore as a place to further my legal career and as a base from which to experience all of the amazing business and cultural diversity on offer in the region,” Mr Stewart says.

From a professional point of view, Mr Stewart sees one of the major attractions of Singapore being the opportunity for lawyers to get exposure to a wide range of international transactions.

“Singapore is a dynamic and fastgrowing international business destination, so working in Singapore presents fantastic opportunities to participate in multijurisdictional projects,” he says.

“These bring with them many challenges and interesting experiences, particularly given the diversity of legal and economic development within the countries comprising the fast-growing ASEAN region.”

Commercial appeal

EA International managing director and legal recruiter Michael Bromley said lawyers are in demand across most areas of commercial practice in Singapore.

“Corporate M&A, banking and finance, construction [...] Those are the areas that tend to be the busiest in Singapore.”

While Mr Stewart agrees with Mr Bromley that most areas of commercial practice are busy, he pointed to M&A and insurance as two front runners.

“I’m a corporate M&A lawyer and we continue to see a great deal of activity both in Singapore and utilising Singapore as a platform for regional transactions,” he says. “The insurance space is another market where a significant amount of activity continues to take place.”

Other growth sectors Mr Stewart highlighted over the last few years are marine, aviation and commodities, across both contentious and non- contentious platforms.

“On the disputes side, the amount of arbitration work occurring in Singapore continues to rise, and Singapore has developed an enviable reputation as a major dispute resolution centre.”

Both Mr Bromley and Mr Stewart emphasised the smaller size of the teams that operate in Singapore. As a result, they warned that firms looking to hire are seeking flexible lawyers with a wide range of experience.

“There is a greater demand for lawyers who have the ability and confidence to handle a wider range of matters than they might otherwise expect to deal with back home,” Mr Stewart says. “It also means that even junior practitioners can be expected to get more involved in client-facing activities.”

Mr Stewart adds that business development is an important part of working in Asia, with lawyers expected to get involved in these activities from a very early level.

Expat prospects

Australian lawyers are unable to practice Singaporean law, meaning they are rarely hired by local firms. However, international firms are increasingly opening up shop in Singapore – for them, Australian lawyers are an obvious choice.

“If you look at the amount of partners at international firms in Singapore that are Australian or New Zealand lawyers, they obviously do really well and are very highly regarded,” Mr Bromley says.

“It’s in close proximity to Australia so in terms of long-term practice credibility, the work that you do up there can still really pay off when you come back home in terms of relationships. Singapore tends to line up fairly well with Australia from an experience perspective.”

Mr Stewart pointed to Clyde & Co as an example of a global firm that is seeing more Australians join its ranks. As it builds a strong presence in Australia, Aussie lawyers are gaining opportunities to work internationally.

Many global firms enter the Singaporean market and operate through a joint law venture with a local Singaporean firm, according to Mr Stewart. This allows the firm to service all cases and clients, both local and international.

“The international legal market in Singapore is very competitive, and there are firms here from every corner of the world, all competing to get the best talent available. I think in that respect Australian lawyers are in demand with very good employment prospects,” Mr Stewart says.

Easy living

In addition to the professional opportunities, Mr Stewart and Mr Bromley both highlighted how easy Singapore can be as a place for expats to live in.

Speaking from experience, Mr Stewart says: “Part of the attraction of Singapore is that it is a sophisticated, very wellorganised and well-developed country within the region, which makes settling down in the country much easier for Australians moving abroad.”

He adds: “While Singapore is very much an international destination and presents a very different working life to that which you would encounter as a lawyer working on Collins Street in Melbourne, it still remains relatively close to home.”

Mr Stewart is an avid Sydney Swans supporter and he revels in the fact that he is able to make it back to watch the Swans play in the AFL Grand Finals on a quick seven-hour flight.

“Upon being engaged to work by a firm in Singapore and obtaining a work permit, there are no restrictions in terms of setting up bank accounts or leasing property, though certain restrictions do apply in relation to foreigners owning land in Singapore,” Mr Stewart explains.

Mr Bromley’s opinion is that Singapore is an outstanding place to work, particularly given its high level of pay and low tax rate.

“It’s one of the easiest places to work as an expat lawyer anywhere in the world – it’s very orderly, and it’s had decades and decades of welcoming expats,” Mr Bromley says.

“I think it’s a real melting pot and it’s an easy place to live. The transport is very good, it’s very accessible to the rest of Asia and to Australia as well, so it just tends to be very easy for people.”

Another benefit Mr Bromley points to is the lack of language barriers.

“If you have language skills like Indonesian or other South East Asian language skills they can be really useful, but it’s not like in Hong Kong where firms tend to want level of proficiency in Mandarin,” he says.

While residency is a tricky road to go down, Mr Bromley said working visas are not hard to come by.

“Firms will sponsor people to live and work there, that’s not a concern. “I’ve had lots of friends move up there, both single and with families, and they’ve all found it quite an easy place to be.”