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Ashurst Perkins Coie

The firm created by Ashurst and Perkins Coie's June 2026 combination runs China-facing capital markets, banking and fintech-regulatory work in Hong Kong, with a four-week vacation scheme feeding a two-year training contract.

Category
UK & international
Origin
London, founded 1822; merged with US firm Perkins Coie in 2026 to form Ashurst Perkins Coie
HK presence
In Hong Kong since 2008, from Jardine House in Central; part of the combined firm's 52-office global network
HK strengths
Equity & debt capital markets (incl. green & digital bonds), banking & finance, fintech regulation, corporate/M&A, disputes

The Hong Kong practice

What does Ashurst Perkins Coie's Hong Kong office actually do?

Ashurst opened its Hong Kong office in 2008 and works out of Jardine House in Central, practising Hong Kong and US law. On 29 June 2026 it completed its combination with US firm Perkins Coie and launched as Ashurst Perkins Coie. In Hong Kong the practice covers banking and finance, financial regulation, derivatives and structured products, equity and debt capital markets, corporate and M&A, private equity, investment funds, restructuring and disputes, under managing partner Ben Hammond. Current Hong Kong office ↗

Capital markets sits at the centre of the office, and the client base is heavily China-facing: mainland companies listing on the HKEX, and the investment banks underwriting them. Legal 500 rates the debt capital markets team technically strong and highly responsive on Greater China international debt work, an area where green and digital bond mandates now sit alongside more standard issuance, built on Hammond's fintech-regulatory expertise. That combination showed up in November 2025, when Ashurst advised HSBC as platform counsel on a HK$10bn digital bond for the Hong Kong Government, the largest digital bond issuance in the world to date (below). Alongside the debt work, the equity capital markets team ran a steady flow of HKEX IPOs for mainland issuers through 2024 and 2025.

For a trainee, that shape sets what you touch. The training contract runs two years across four six-month seats, planned with you, and one seat is likely to be an international secondment; Hong Kong itself is a secondment destination for trainees from the firm's other offices, and HK trainees can be sent the other way. In a capital markets or finance seat you sit close to live IPOs and bond issues: due diligence, verification, drafting ancillary documents and disclosure, and working-group calls with banks and other advisers. Because so much of the client base is mainland Chinese, Chinese-language ability is not just useful, the firm lists it as a requirement alongside English.

Trainee & vacation scheme programme

How do you get into Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong?

Applications: summer 2027

Applications run from 12 September 2026 to 3 January 2027. The firm also lists a Hong Kong Open House on 7 October 2026; check its careers page for registration. Current recruitment source ↗

The summer vacation scheme runs four weeks in the Hong Kong office, open to penultimate- and final-year law students and graduates. You rotate through practice groups under a qualified solicitor, sit close to real client work, and go through internal workshops and training sessions alongside it. The firm's own Hong Kong graduate guidance is direct: you are strongly encouraged to do the vacation scheme before applying for a training contract, which makes it the main pipeline rather than one route among several.

4weeks on the Hong Kong summer vacation scheme
4six-month seats over the two-year training contract
1seat likely to be an international secondment

The training contract runs two years across four six-month seats, agreed between you and the firm, with one seat likely to be an international secondment. You need to be on track for a strong 2:1 in your law degree, with strong English and Chinese (extra languages are a bonus), and you must complete the PCLL before the contract starts. The firm says it pays a stipend in instalments through your PCLL year and reimburses the course in full once you begin. Beyond the academic and language bar, its recruitment materials describe wanting analytical ability, commercial instinct, communication and teamwork, flexibility and drive.

Watch out

Deadlines move every cycle, so check the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker instead of trusting last year's date. If you land the scheme, the Vacation Scheme Academy covers how to convert it into an offer.

Recent matters worth knowing

Which recent deals has the Hong Kong office run?

These are the matters the Hong Kong office has publicly led or advised on, and they cluster where it is strongest: record-setting digital-bond work and a steady flow of HKEX IPOs for mainland issuers. They are the raw material for a good interview answer.

  1. Oaktree's US$50m Zhongji Innolight cornerstone investmentJuly 2026

    Ashurst Perkins Coie advised Oaktree Capital on its US$50m cornerstone equity investment in Zhongji Innolight's Hong Kong IPO. The team was led by Hong Kong partner and Asia corporate head Frank Bi. Note the precise role: investor counsel, not issuer or sponsor counsel. Source ↗

  2. HSBC's HK$10bn digital bond on the Orion platformNov 2025

    Ashurst advised HSBC as platform counsel on a Hong Kong Government digital bond issuance, a record HK$10bn across four currency tranches that drew over HK$130bn in total subscriptions, the world's first digital bond to settle using tokenised central bank money (e-CNY and e-HKD). The team was led by Hong Kong managing partner Ben Hammond. Source: Ashurst press release. Source ↗

  3. HXPharma's HK$993.6m HKEX IPOOct 2025

    Ashurst acted as Hong Kong and US counsel to Fujian Haixi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (HXPharma) on its global offering of shares and listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, acting for the issuer rather than the underwriters. Source: Ashurst press release. Source ↗

  4. Butong Group's HK$781.84m HKEX IPOSep 2025

    The firm advised the underwriters, led by joint sponsors CITIC Securities and Haitong International, as Hong Kong and US legal advisers and drafting counsel on the Hong Kong listing of the nursery-products group behind the BeBeBus brand. Source: Ashurst press release. Source ↗

  5. Cloudbreak Pharma's ~HK$522m HKEX IPOJul 2025

    Ashurst acted as counsel to the joint sponsors and underwriters on the Hong Kong listing of the clinical-stage ophthalmology biotech, which made its trading debut on 3 July 2025. Source: Ashurst press release. Source ↗

  6. Shanghai Voicecomm's US$85m HKEX IPOJul 2024

    The firm acted as US counsel to Shanghai Voicecomm Information Technology, a mainland conversational-AI and voice-technology company, on its listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with the team led by Hong Kong-based partner Li Jiang. Source: National Tribune (Ashurst release). Source ↗

Insider tip

Deals like these only help you if you can explain what they mean, so build the framework in our commercial awareness guide. Weekly breakdowns of deals exactly like these, what happened, why it happened, and how to use it in an interview, are what the paid Weekly News Digest delivers.

Interview & selection intel

What does the Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong selection process look like?

The current Hong Kong guidance now describes an untimed online assessment of critical reasoning and behavioural strengths, taking about an hour. It includes a realistic preview of the work and provides a feedback report; the firm links to a preparation hub.

The next stage involves individual and group interviews with graduate-recruitment partners, lawyers and the People & Culture team. Prepare to explain your reasoning and collaborate, not just deliver a rehearsed answer. Older candidate accounts naming Cognify, Emotify or a fixed two-associate interview are not the current published specification.

How to stand out

How do you stand out for Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong?

The psychometric stage is only a gate; your edge comes from a written application specific to the firm's China-facing capital-markets work, a deal you can explain in English and Chinese, and rehearsed associate interviews. Here is where to put your preparation.

  • 1Use the current assessment guidance. Work through the firm's preparation hub, then build a written application specific to its China-facing capital-markets and fintech-regulatory work. Our guide to the top mistakes on HK applications helps you cut generic claims.

  • 2Be able to talk about a Hong Kong capital markets deal, and the bilingual reality behind it. This office runs on mainland issuers listing on the HKEX and on the debt and digital-bond work behind its fintech-regulatory practice, so walk in able to explain a recent one cold, in English and ideally with the Chinese vocabulary for it too. Build that structured reasoning in the Online Case Study Centre and keep current with the Weekly News Digest.

  • 3Practise explaining a recommendation and working with others. The published individual and group interviews call for clear reasoning, listening and concise contributions. Use a Mock Assessment Centre to test those skills under realistic pressure.

Quick answers

Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong, in five questions

How do you get a training contract at Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong?

The main route is the summer vacation scheme, which runs four weeks in the Hong Kong office and is open to penultimate- and final-year law students and graduates. The firm's own guidance says you are strongly encouraged to do the vacation scheme before applying for a training contract, which makes it the main pipeline rather than one route among several.

Does Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong use psychometric tests?

Yes. The current Hong Kong process includes an untimed online assessment of critical reasoning and behavioural strengths, taking about an hour, followed by individual and group interviews. Use the firm's preparation hub and your invitation instructions.

Does Ashurst Perkins Coie pay for the PCLL in Hong Kong?

Yes. The firm says it pays a stipend in instalments through your PCLL year and reimburses the course in full once you begin the training contract. You must complete the PCLL before the contract starts.

What does the Ashurst Perkins Coie Hong Kong training contract look like?

Two years across four six-month seats, agreed between you and the firm, with one seat likely to be an international secondment. Hong Kong is also a secondment destination for trainees from the firm's other offices, and Hong Kong trainees can be sent the other way.

What does Ashurst Perkins Coie look for in Hong Kong applicants?

You need to be on track for a strong 2:1 in your law degree, with strong English and Chinese (extra languages are a bonus). Beyond that the firm looks for analytical ability, commercial instinct, communication and teamwork, flexibility and drive.

Build your Ashurst Perkins Coie application

Turn this intel into an offer

Knowing the firm wants bilingual, capital-markets-literate candidates is one thing. Building an application and interview performance that prove it is another. Elite Pathfinder trains both, with materials built for Hong Kong assessment processes.

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