Legal Recruitment

Private Practice Legal Jobs

We choose to partner closely with law firms that are recognised as the market-leaders in their particular sectors, have sustainable growth plans, and can offer genuine career development to our candidates. We are regularly instructed on the following:

• Partner jobs
• Counsel jobs
• Senior/Managing Associate jobs
• Associate jobs

In-House Legal Jobs

We are particularly renowned for placing lawyers into key legal hires in the financial services sector in Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific, including jobs in investment banks, asset managers, insurers, brokerages and private equity firms, and have personal relationships with the majority of senior lawyers within these organisations.

We are also regularly instructed on searches for legal jobs in IT, FMCG, media, telecommunications, hospitality, luxury brands, retail, construction, real estate, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, healthcare, not-for-profit, government, aviation and a range of other sectors. Our instructions include the following mandates:

• General Counsel jobs
• Legal Counsel jobs
• Vice President / Director / Managing Director – Legal Division jobs

Meet Our Experienced Legal Recruiters

Ben Cooper

Managing Partner

Ben is a Barrister of England & Wales (Middle Temple) and previously practised employment law in London, before moving into executive search. He has over a decade of experience completing search mandates for lawyers and compliance professionals on a global basis.

He has been awarded Best Recruitment Consultant in Asia-Pacific by Global Recruiter and awarded Best Legal & Compliance Headhunter in Asia-Pacific by AsiaMoney.

He moved to Hong Kong in January, 2010, and has been highly successful in the legal recruitment market since then, placing lawyers and compliance professionals from mid to senior level. He founded Ashford Benjamin Ltd, with the firm belief that the legal market in Hong Kong deserved a better, new kind of search firm.

Ben is a regular contributor to legal journals and is actively involved with furthering the legal profession in Hong Kong; being regularly invited to sit on industry discussion panels and regularly attending Hong Kong Law Society functions.

Aside from legal recruitment, Ben sits on the fund-raising committee of Liberty Asia – an anti-slavery charity, and has advised students on legal careers at Hong Kong University’s Law School.

Ben can be reached at ben.cooper@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6222.

Mohit Savalani

Partner

Mohit has been working in the legal industry since 2010. He is renowned in the market in Asia for his in-depth knowledge of the legal sector and his thorough understanding of both his clients’ and candidates’ needs. He has successfully completed search assignments for mid-senior lawyers, including Partner and General Counsel appointments with top-tier international law firms, MNCs, fund houses, insurance companies and bulge bracket investment banks. His previous role before joining Ashford Benjamin was as the Head of Legal Search for a boutique search firm in Hong Kong.

During his tenure, his team were awarded Best Legal Recruitment Team in Hong Kong by the Recruitment International Awards in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, at the Global Recruiter Awards in 2015, Mohit was commended as a finalist for Best Recruitment Consultant in the APAC region.

Mohit was born and raised in Hong Kong and attended The University of Manchester for his further education. He has grown to be one of Hong Kong’s leading legal recruiters due to his excellent delivery and service.

Mohit can be reached at msavalani@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6221.

Michael Allen

Partner

Michael specialises in the placement of legal professionals into in-house positions in banking and financial services across Asia. He has established a strong client and candidate base and has successfully placed a large number of lawyers into banks, asset management and private equity firms from Vice President to Chief Legal Officer level. Michael’s excellent relationships with the majority of senior in-house lawyers in Hong Kong, plus his personal network of top tier financial services lawyers, means the majority of his search mandates are exclusively retained.

 Michael has a degree in Business, and experience working in both London and Hong Kong. He started his career in 2010 in London at a global recruitment firm across banking and alternative investments, before joining an international search firm in 2014 and moving to Hong Kong.

 Michael can be reached at mallen@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6223.

Sup Iyer

Principal Consultant

Sup is an experienced legal search consultant in the APAC region. His in-depth understanding of the in-house and the private practice sectors has allowed him to successfully cater to the needs of clients and candidates, over a number of years in the industry.

He has successfully headhunted and placed lawyers at all levels to top-tier international law firms, financial institutions and MNCs across the APAC Region. Prior to joining Ashford Benjamin, he was a consultant at a boutique legal search firm in Hong Kong, where he was part of the team that was awarded the Best Legal Recruitment Team in Hong Kong by the Recruitment International Awards in 2015 and 2016.

Sup grew up in Hong Kong and attended Ryerson University in Canada. Since returning to Hong Kong he has gained significant knowledge and understanding of the Asian legal market, allowing him to provide excellent service and consultation to both clients and candidates.

Sup can be reached at either sup.iyer@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6078.

Suki Wong

Principal Consultant

Suki began her career in executive search in 2014, specialising in private practice (International and HK independent law firms). She has successfully headhunted and placed lawyers across different PQE and practice areas such as: corporate, litigation, finance, asset finance, employment, funds and intellectual property. She also has experience in assisting lawyers from local law firms stepping up to an international law firm, as well as advising a number of private practice lawyers on their first in-house move. Suki has built a reputation for listening closely to her candidates’ needs and giving them objective career advice, which means many of her candidates work with her exclusively.

Suki grew up in Hong Kong and moved to UK for education when she was 12. She completed her Bachelor and Masters degrees at Bangor University and Glasgow Caledonia University.

Suki can be reached at swong@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6075.

Mimi cheung

Consultant

Mimi has successfully headhunted and placed a large number of lawyers into top tier international law firms and financial institutions. Mimi takes a long-term view when giving career advice to candidates, which is invaluable when helping them to achieve their career goals. She is regarded as a genuine expert in the Hong Kong legal recruitment market, and represents highly sought-after candidates from a range of legal disciplines, in their search for private practice, and in-house opportunities.

Mimi was born and raised in Hong Kong and attended The University of Hong Kong.

Mimi can be reached at mcheung@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6092.

Louis feighan

Consultant

Louis was brought up in Scotland, and has developed a strong network of lawyers across Hong Kong and Singapore, since relocating to Hong Kong. He has helped a number of these to secure roles in both Private Practice and In-House across Asia. Recent examples have been successfully placing junior to mid-level lawyers In-House with investment banks, fintech and asset managers, as well as placements into international Private Practice law firms. He specialises in the placement of Banking, Corporate, Global Markets, and Investment Funds lawyers across the APAC region.

Louis can be reached at lfeighan@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6079.

Timothy Xu

Associate

Timothy was brought up and educated in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ballarat and Melbourne, returning to Hong Kong in 2018 upon completing his bachelor’s degree at Deakin University. He comes from a family of lawyers and is pursuing a part-time LLB.

Timothy focuses on completing search mandates for lawyers at all levels in Hong Kong and selected Asian jurisdictions. He prides himself on offering expert career advice, and working pro-actively on behalf of clients and candidates.

Prior to joining Ashford Benjamin, Timothy was a consultant at a global search firm, placing mid-senior professionals into a range of disciplines across Asia-Pacific.

Timothy can be reached at txu@ashford-benjamin.com or on +852 3511 6074