International legal consultants

In 2011 we have four to eight positions across all three of our offices in China.

To be an international legal consultant with us you should be a PRC LLB graduate. You might also have obtained an LLM from a top law school in China. You should also be studying for an LLM in the US or another country or have recently graduated with an LLM from a US university or its equivalent in another country. You may also have passed the PRC bar exams and have work experience in a law firm. Because competition is fierce, graduates who are also completing the bar exams in the US have an advantage.

Your training will match the type of work you do
As a minimum we provide an induction course for new international legal consultants. This introduces you to the firm and equips you with the basic skills and knowledge to start your legal career with us.

You then have comprehensive on-the-job training as you work on transactions and hone your skills under the supervision of our partners and associates.

We will also provide you with the legal technical training you need to carry out your work. This will include English drafting, negotiation, legal research skills, communication and interpersonal skills training.

You will work closely with associates and partners on transactions
Regular tasks include due diligence, legal research and legal drafting. Working with us, you can expect to attend meetings with our associates and partners, deal direct with clients and other professionals, and be involved in managing and executing transactions from start to finish.

We have a strong mentoring programme for all international legal consultants
We allocate a senior associate to each international legal consultant. We encourage you to raise any issues of concern with mentors, whether they are in relation to working practices, dealing with clients, workload, or any other issues.

Some international legal consultants are keen to be promoted to associate
We encourage the development of all our people and we are especially keen to provide promising international legal consultants with the opportunity to become associates.

If you have the appetite and talent to progress beyond international legal consultant to associate, we will happily consider you for promotion. Promotion depends on how long you have worked for us, the experience you have gained and your performance.

For international legal consultants joining us with no prior working experience, we will consider you for promotion to associate after a few years.

If you are successful in being promoted to the position of associate, secondment opportunities may be available to other offices in our network - in addition to Hong Kong. Associates from our China offices have been seconded to London, New York, Washington DC and Brussels.

A few exceptional PRC-qualified lawyers join us as associates
It's rare but it is possible for a PRC-qualified lawyer to join us as an associate without going through the international legal consultant route. You will have graduated a few years ago as a PRC lawyer, have gained an LLM in the US, have passed your US bar exams and have some impressive work experience. See experienced lawyers.