Written by Anna Chow, Associate Director at Ropner Lewis Sanders

In-house Update | Q1 2026 

The in-house legal and compliance market in Hong Kong and Singapore had a steadier start to 2026 compared to the same period last year. While hiring is still largely replacement-driven, certain areas of the market are clear improving.

The outright bright spot this year has been the stellar IPO activity in Hong Kong, which carried on from the second half of 2025. Although this has not yet led to a noticeable rise in IPO-related in-house hiring, it has had a positive effect on broader hiring sentiment. We have seen more momentum in hiring processes, as well as processes that have resumed after being put on hold in 2025. Organisations that prioritise hiring the right people also seem to be more flexible and creative in putting attractive packages together right now.

Derivatives continues the most active area of hiring. Demand for this has been at all levels, with banks in particular looking to strengthen their teams in this space. For context, we have at least five clients looking for derivatives talent right now, with some of them looking to hire more than one legal counsel. All but one of them are banks.

There has also been an increase in demand for lawyers who have cross-border transactional experience, behind belief that sentiment in China is improving.

Asset management has also been relatively active in Q1, with hiring across both legal and compliance. Most roles have been focused on junior to mid-level candidates with funds experience, with some of these being expansion hires.

In contrast, hiring in fintech and cryptocurrency has been quieter compared to this time last year. It is not clear whether this indicates any long term trends, as this sector has shown weakened hiring activity in the past only to quickly rebound shortly afterwards, which is consistent with the business volatility of this space.

On the regulatory side, demand for data protection expertise remains strong. In addition, while in-house legal roles purely focused on AI are still few in this region, there is a growing expectation for in-house lawyers to advise on AI-related regulatory issues as part of their wider role.

Overall, the market seems to be moving beyond cautious optimism and trending towards active hiring.

Feel free to reach out to me by email (achow@ropnerlewissanders.com) or WhatsApp at (+852 6110 8869) for a confidential chat.