Hong Kong·London·Melbourne·Singapore·Auckland

Tim Smith

Tim is the Managing Director and co-founder of Winchester Search. He is an experienced legal recruiter who specialises in private practice recruitment, at associate and partner level, predominantly for law firms in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Australia and Singapore. In addition to acting for many of the major US, UK, Chinese and Australian law firms in the Asia Pacific region, Tim has worked on assignments for investment banks and multinational companies. The strong relationships that Tim has developed with his clients and candidates has enabled him to successfully place associates, salaried and equity partners and teams of lawyers across all practice areas. Tim has placed more than 120 lawyers, including over 20 partners, at over 40 international law firms across the region.

Tim has an in-depth understanding of the sensitivities of recruiting in Asia and is highly regarded for his strong market knowledge and his proactive and professional approach to assisting his clients and candidates. He set up the Hong Kong office of a global legal recruitment firm before jointly establishing Winchester Search in 2013 in order to focus on executive search.

In recent years Tim has specialised in the recruitment of Partners and teams in Hong Kong. In addition Tim has been engaged by international law firms to provide strategic advice and to assist in relation to the opening and the development of their first offices in Asia.

Tim qualified as a solicitor in New Zealand and holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts. He has worked as a legal recruiter in Hong Kong, London, and Melbourne and has a strong understanding of global and local legal markets and international recruitment trends. Prior to developing his career as a legal recruiter, Tim specialised in restructuring, and worked for five years for international restructuring firms in London and Melbourne.