Salary survey for lawyers in Hong Kong

1. HONG KONG
HONG KONG
SALARY SURVEY | 2021
SALARY SURVEY | 2021
SD Legal is a search firm focused on the Asia Pacific legal recruitment sector. Our goal is to provide candidates
with real time job opportunities from across the region; and to give hiring managers access to a candidate pool
that is unrivalled in depth and reach. The team at SD Legal have over 20 years of experience covering key hubs
including: Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo.
Nathan Smith is a highly trained and experienced In-House Legal & Compliance Recruiter, based in Asia for
over 12 years and covering key markets across the region (North Asia: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing + South
East Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines).
Nathan has a number of exclusive client relationships, centered around MNC’s, SME’s and Family offices.
This network is built on foundations of successful hiring and industry recommendations, please click here for
more details.
The SD Legal database has a number of exclusive relationships with lawyers from across the region, as well
as being a first port of call for lawyers looking to move and/or return to Asia. What makes this database
different is the weekly contact made by Nathan to each member, allowing hiring managers to access
lawyers who are perhaps not actively searching for a new role, but ‘open’ to exciting opportunities.
Positions we can assist with include: General Counsel, Legal Director, Senior Legal Counsel, Regional Counsel.
Other niche areas include: Head of Compliance, Trade Compliance, Employment Lawyers and IP specialists.
SD Legal - Who we are
What makes us different?
T: +852 3752 0529 | M: +852 6508 2202
E: nathan.smith@sdlegal-asia.com
W: www.sdlegal-asia.com
Nathan Smith | Managing Director

2. Legal Counsel (3-5 PQE)
Lower End (HKD) Higher End (HKD)
Pay: $60,000 - $80,000 Per Month
Bonus: 7-12%
Languages: English / Cantonese and potentially Mandarin
Industry examples: Retail, Logistics, Media, Telecoms,
Medical Devices
Work: General Corporate / Commercial (limited trans-
actional work)
Hours of work: 9am – 6pm
Background: Lawyers will be educated in Hong Kong and
likely to be trained at a local law firm
Lawyers may also be from overseas, relocating to Hong
Kong with a spouse which often suits positions where
English is the only language required
Benefits: Culture, w/l balance and flexibility are high on
both the candidate and employer’s agenda
Pay: $80,000 - $100,000 Per Month
Bonus: 20-25%
Languages: English and Mandarin (required 90% of the time)
Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates, Established
Fintech, Established Funds / Family Office
Work: Transactional and Regulatory focus
Hours of work: 9am – 8pm
Background: Lawyers will be trained in a Corporate team,
working at an international law firm, often tier 1 such as
Magic Circle / US
Lawyers can converse fully in English and Chinese, demon-
strate strong technical training and possess excellent soft
skills to deal directly with key stakeholders
Benefits: Work is often focused on ground-breaking transac-
tional projects across Asia

3. Senior Legal Counsel (6-12 PQE)
Lower End (HKD) Higher End (HKD)
Pay: $85,000 - $105,000 Per Month
Bonus: 15-25%
Languages: English / Cantonese and likely Mandarin
Industry examples: Retail, Logistics, Media, Telecoms,
Medical Devices
Work: General Corporate / Commercial (limited trans-
actional work), Team management, Collaboration with
other offices and senior stakeholders
Hours of work: 9am – 6pm
Background: Lawyers have a mixture of law firm and In-
House experience, mainly covering commercial and
compliance related matters
Solid stakeholder management skills and the ability to run
projects independently are required
Benefits: The opportunity to lead projects and be included
as part of the senior management team. At the same time,
a manageable w/l balance exists
Pay: $100,000 - $140,000 Per Month
Bonus: 20-25%
Languages: English and Mandarin (required 90% of the time)
Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates, Established
Fintech, Established Funds / Family Office
Work: Transactional and Regulatory focus
Hours of work: 9am – 8pm
Background: Lawyers will be trained in a Corporate team,
working at an international law firm, often tier 1 such as
Magic Circle / US
Lawyers can converse fully in English and Chinese, demon-
strate strong technical training and possess excellent soft
skills to deal directly with key stakeholders
Benefits: Work is often focused on ground-breaking transac-
tional projects across Asia

4. Legal Director / Associate General Counsel (12-18 PQE)
Lower End (HKD) Higher End (HKD)
Pay: $120,000 - $140,000 Per Month
Bonus: 20-30%
Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing)
Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates and MNC’s
Work: General Corporate / Commercial (some transactional
work), Team management, Key role as part of the global
legal leadership team
Hours of work: 9am – 8pm
Background: Lawyers will be leaders, In-House, demon-
strating all skills mentioned above. The background will be
stable with a ‘hands on’ work ethic
Typically, successful candidates feel more comfortable
when working for Hong Kong / Chinese focused businesses
Benefits: Leading the legal function for Asia, managing a
small team of 1-3 and oversight of 2-3 regional offices
Pay: $150,000 - $180,000 Per Month
Bonus: 25-80% + Long Term Incentives (LTI’s)
Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing)
Industry examples: Tech, Funds / Family Offices
Work: Transactional / Regulatory focused. Often includes
areas such as Fund raising, Stock listing, M&A, JV, Licence /
Govt work
Hours of work: 9am – 10pm
Background: Lawyers will be leaders, In-House and hands on
with transactional work
Lawyers will take a senior approach to work with delegation
of short term actions to subordinates (if no team exists, this
will be external counsel)
Benefits: LTI’s will be lucrative with excellent exposure to
C-Level stakeholders aligned to the project

5. APAC General Counsel / Group General Counsel (20-25+ PQE)
Lower End (HKD) Higher End (HKD)
Pay: $170,000 - $200,000 Per Month
Bonus: 40%++ Long term incentive (LIT’s)
Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing)
Industry examples: Hong Kong Conglomerates and MNC’s
Work: Leading a team in Hong Kong and Greater China,
covering legal, compliance and operations
Background: Leaders will demonstrate previous project
wins across all legal and compliance related matters. Other
strengths include Corporate work such as M&A and JV,
Team Building / Management, Key role as a Steering
Committee Member
Typically, candidates will have stable CV’s working for a
successful company with direct reporting lines to the CEO
Pay: $200,000 - $280,000 Per Month*
*Exceptions occur with some Legal Leaders in Hong Kong
receiving 25-30% above this range
Bonus: 50-100% + Long Term Incentives (LTI’s)
Languages: English & Chinese (Spoken, Reading, Writing)
Industry examples: Chinese Big Tech, Fintech, Established
Funds / Family Office
Work: Transactional (M&A), Commercial & Compliance.
Management of teams regionally and where needed globally
Background: Top tier law firm backgrounds and significant
years In-House at reputable and often overseas listed firms
Lawyers will form part of the senior management team and
have direct access to the board of directors. Lawyers will also
have significant influence over the commercial and opera-
tional sides of business
Expectations would be you are in the top 10% for people
management skills, physically and remotely, upwards /
downwards

6. SD Legal Limited
Suite 137, 13/F
Somptueux Central
52 Wellington Street, Central
Hong Kong