International move: Get the low down from Daniel Lo

As a Canadian lawyer, I was comfortable and happy with growing my legal career in Canada. However, I have always felt that given the current state of globalization and the rising influence of Asia, I needed to gain some deal exposure into the region and wanted to accelerate the development of my legal skills and connections. My first overseas experience was when I moved to Hong Kong from Canada from an onshore practice. Not only was this my first international move, but it was my first time transitioning into an in-house legal role. The move was tough as I had moved to Hong Kong alone without the help of a recruiter and had no professional contacts in the city to network with. After nearly 2 years of focusing on private equity deals from scratch and developing my Asian network, I was ready to fast-track my legal career in private equity further and decided to explore options in the region. 

This time around, I wanted my second international move to go more smoothly, so I decided to reach out to a recruiter. I eventually got in touch with John Clayton from Nexus Legal and right away I felt like this next move would be different. John took the time to understand my goals and needs, provided a knowledgeable update on the market and was well connected with law firms in the region. The process took up to 5 months from our first phone conversation to the signing of my offer and was flawless and void of stress. Throughout that period, John took the time to catch up with me on a biweekly basis and to let me know of any opportunities that were suitable for me. Through our conversations, I quickly realized that moving to an offshore law firm was most ideal for this next stage of my career, given that I wanted to specialize in investment funds and PE/VC investments, work with top tier lawyers, have a reasonable work/life balance and be competitively compensated. 

I am currently at Walkers in Singapore in the investment funds and corporate group. Professionally I have been developing a growing practice within investment funds and downstream investments and am happy to be working with legal experts on a day to day basis. The Cayman and BVI knowledge that I am learning has been very interesting and I believe it will be valuable as I continue this journey as a private equity and funds lawyer. Personally, I am enjoying living in beautiful Singapore, trying the plethora of food choices every day, and the opportunities to travel more frequently to southeast Asian destinations. Both my international moves to Hong Kong and Singapore have been eye-opening experiences for me, I have grown immeasurably on a personal and professional level, and recommend that every lawyer look into a move overseas if an adventure and challenge is what they are after.

If you would like our help to relocate overseas, fill out the contact form below. Alternatively call: +44 161 870 6776 or email: relocate@nexuslr.com