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Offshore
FIND YOUR NEXT LEGAL ROLE TODAY
Offshore Legal Jobs.
The offshore team at Origin Legal are amongst the most experienced offshore legal recruiters in the world. If you are looking for lawyer jobs offshore or are just interested in finding out about the advantages and potential drawbacks of a moving offshore as a lawyer, contact Jason Horobin or check the Origin Legal website for a host of offshore legal resources.
“Will I be able to come back?” It is the question we get asked most consistently by people looking for legal jobs offshore. The answer is certainly yes, but with one caveat…people rarely want to. No longer does a lawyer moving offshore have to resolve to spending their career on a small island. Offshore lawyers can be found working out of Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Dublin and London as well as the more ‘traditional’ offshore financial centres in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.
It is a truly international market that offers the opportunity to do world-class work in firms that are stacked full of lawyers who trained and practised at top onshore firms before taking their careers offshore.
Why? Everyone will have their own reasons but most will alight on some of these; more responsibility earlier, more client contact from the outset, technically complex and fast moving work, improved work-life balance, smaller and less hierarchical firms, better career progression, good salaries with lower (or zero) tax-bills, or lifestyle advantages outside of work.
For an up to dare list of offshore lawyer jobs or to find out more about offshore legal opportunities that may suit your experience and meet your career goals, contact Jason Horobin at Origin Legal.
If you would like to find out more about working with Origin Legal International, get in touch with Jason or Charlotte and we’d be happy to help.
Here you’ll find clear answers to the questions we’re asked most. If you don’t see what you need, we’re happy to help.
Do offshore roles really offer lawyers a better work-life balance?
The short answer is yes, the longer answer is more nuanced.
Offshore lawyers do work hard. The market is fiercely competitive, clients span multiple time zones, and the work is comparable to that in any major onshore firm. But then you weren’t expecting a 9 to 5, were you?
What you can expect is a different culture. Less hierarchy, but no less professionalism. More relaxed, but no less driven. Smaller, more personal teams, without the presenteeism. Targets are likely to be more reasonable too, both in billable hours and in delivery expectations. You will still have busy patches, but the relentless grind so common onshore is largely absent.
Lawyers we know have also reported feeling they have more control over their time. If you are working late, it’s more likely because you have chosen to get something done, not because a file landed on your desk at 6pm and wiped out your weekend. It makes a difference.
There are caveats. Some firms (and some teams) lean closer to a City-style culture, and some islands are more intense than others. If work-life balance is a driver, get advice from someone who really knows the market (an experienced offshore recruiter perhaps?)
We’ll end with this. In 25 years of offshore legal recruitment, we’re yet to know anyone who left because of the hours. That must say something.
If you want to find out which firms and which islands can deliver what you are looking for, get in touch with Jason Horobin or Charlotte Hooper.
