Trainee lawyers

Graduates can apply to our Hong Kong office for a two-year training contract to become a Hong Kong qualified lawyer. Each year we have about 10 training contracts to award.

We recruit trainees from universities all over the world
You will need to demonstrate a consistently high level of academic performance, as we believe it demonstrates an ability to cope with complex legal issues. It's rare for us to accept anyone without a 2:1, First or equivalent. If you didn't achieve a 2:1, we'd need to see evidence of exceptional academic ability gained elsewhere.

We will support you as you complete your Postgraduate Certificate in Laws
To apply for a trainee position, you must be completing a common law degree or GDL if you are a non-law degree holder. If you are successful in your application for a trainee position, we will support you in completing your Postgraduate Certificate in Laws.

Our training contract allows you to experience more areas of law than other law firms
Most firms offer trainees four six-month seats. But during your two-year training contract with us we allow you to do a maximum of seven seats.

You do six months in corporate and three months in finance. These seats are compulsory. But you can then do up to five other three-month seats in other practice areas. You can choose which seats you want to do.

Corporate and finance seats are compulsory as they're the foundation to a career, regardless of whether you choose to qualify in them. We also usually recommend

you take a dispute resolution seat, as this will provide a different perspective on commercial transactions. You can also choose to complete an intellectual property and information technology, or an antitrust, competition and trade practice seat. Both are very popular.

In addition, we offer a three-month seat in our Beijing or Shanghai office, and a six-month seat in our London office.

You don't have to decide straightaway. You may well find that your interests change as your training progresses. So we'll consult with you regularly to discover which of our practice areas most interest you, while making sure you still benefit from well-rounded training.

We monitor your progress closely
We meet every three months with you to discuss how you're doing.

Throughout your two-year contract, you'll meet people from other departments and practice groups, and attend their presentations. This will help you decide which of our practice areas is right for you.

Chinese language skills are becoming more important in Hong Kong
As an increasing amount of our work involves the PRC, fluency in Mandarin is becoming more important. That's why, in recent years, we've recruited more trainees who are proficient in Cantonese and/or Mandarin. If you're interested in pursuing a career in this region, we recommend you improve your spoken, reading and writing skills in Mandarin. Communicating with clients in spoken Mandarin and written Chinese will mean more opportunities and a greater variety of work for you.