UK & international
Hogan Lovells
A global firm whose long-established Hong Kong office pairs mid-cap HKEX listings with a heavyweight disputes and restructuring practice, and trains solicitors over two years across three seats plus a six-month overseas secondment.
- Category
- UK & international
- Origin
- Formed 2010 by the merger of Hogan & Hartson (Washington DC) and Lovells (London)
- HK presence
- Open since 1982; one of the largest international-firm practices based in the city, running Hong Kong and US law
- HK strengths
- Capital markets & IPOs, corporate/M&A and private equity, banking & finance, disputes, arbitration and restructuring
The Hong Kong practice
What does Hogan Lovells's Hong Kong office actually do?
Hogan Lovells has practised in Hong Kong since 1982, and the SAR office is one of the largest international-firm practices based in the city. It runs Hong Kong and US law, and the work splits across three engines: capital markets and corporate, banking and finance, and a disputes practice that carries real weight in the market.
On the transactional side the office is known for mid-cap Hong Kong listings rather than the mega-IPOs the Magic Circle chases. It has built a niche in Chapter 18A biotech listings and in US and Hong Kong dual-law IPOs for Chinese and Asia-Pacific issuers, alongside private equity and going-private deals for US-listed Chinese companies. The finance side covers acquisition and leveraged finance, private credit and asset and aviation finance.
The disputes side is a genuine draw. It runs commercial and financial-services litigation, international arbitration (construction, energy, private equity and life sciences), and contentious restructuring and insolvency, where the office acted for the bond trustee in the landmark Tsinghua Unigroup keepwell case. For a trainee, the structure is three six-month seats across these groups plus a six-month secondment to another Hogan Lovells office, so you touch both the transactional and contentious sides and get a real spell abroad before you qualify.
Trainee & vacation scheme programme
How do you get into Hogan Lovells Hong Kong?
The summer vacation scheme is the main route in. Hogan Lovells runs two four-week schemes in the Hong Kong office, one in June and one in July, taking roughly six or seven students each. The firm makes only about three to four Hong Kong training-contract offers a year, and it says those go primarily to people who did a scheme. So the vacation scheme is close to a prerequisite, and the four weeks do most of the assessing. On the scheme you work on live client matters, sit through formal skills and legal training, and take on group and individual exercises alongside pro bono and social sessions.
The training contract runs two years across three practice-group seats plus a six-month secondment to one of the firm's international offices. You need the Hong Kong PCLL before you start; the firm pays for the PCLL and any conversion exams and provides a stipend for living costs during that year. It recruits roughly two years ahead of the start date, so applications for a given intake open well before you would begin. Check the current intake and dates on Hogan Lovells's Hong Kong graduates page.
On selection the firm is consistent about what it wants: an excellent academic record, real commercial and current awareness, and strong communication. English fluency is a prerequisite, and Cantonese and Mandarin are strongly desirable given how much of the work is mainland-facing.
- Route inSummer vacation scheme — two four-week schemes in the HK office, June and July, taking roughly six or seven students each. Trainees go primarily to people who did a scheme.
- Intake sizeSmall. The firm makes only about three to four Hong Kong training-contract offers a year.
- The contractTwo years across three six-month practice-group seats plus a six-month secondment to one of the firm's international offices.
- QualificationYou need the Hong Kong PCLL before you start. The firm pays for the PCLL and any conversion exams and provides a stipend for living costs during that year.
- TimingRecruits roughly two years ahead of the start date, so applications for a given intake open well before you would begin.
- What they wantAn excellent academic record, real commercial and current awareness, and strong communication. English fluency is a prerequisite; Cantonese and Mandarin are strongly desirable.
Watch out
Deadlines move every cycle, so check the current dates on the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker instead of trusting last year's date. Once you land the scheme, the Vacation Scheme Academy covers how to convert those four weeks into an offer, which here is the whole game.
Recent matters worth knowing
Which recent deals has Hogan Lovells's Hong Kong office run?
These are the deals and disputes the Hong Kong office has publicly led or advised on, and they are the raw material for a good interview answer. They cluster where the office is strongest: mid-cap HKEX listings, Chapter 18A biotech floats, and heavyweight disputes and restructuring.
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Cloudbreak Pharma's HK$611m Chapter 18A IPOJuly 2025
Hogan Lovells advised on the Main Board HKEX listing of the clinical-stage ophthalmology biotech under Chapter 18A, the pre-revenue biotech route, with the stock listing in July 2025. Hong Kong corporate partner Sammy Li led. Source ↗
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Citicorp v Tsinghua Unigroup "keepwell" judgmentJune 2023
Hogan Lovells acted for the bond trustee, Citicorp International, and secured a Hong Kong Court of First Instance judgment of more than US$480m against Tsinghua Unigroup for breaching a "keepwell" deed backing its offshore notes, one of the landmark Hong Kong rulings on how far these China-market comfort instruments can be enforced. Reported as [2023] HKCFI 1572. Source ↗
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Wise Living Technology's HK$272m IPOJuly 2023
Acted for the sole sponsor, Guotai Junan Capital, and the underwriters on the Main Board listing of the mainland heat-service provider. Source ↗
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Sinohealth Holdings' HK$400m IPOJuly 2022
Advised on the Main Board HKEX listing of the China healthcare-data and insight group, which began trading on 12 July 2022. Hong Kong corporate partner Nelson Tang led. Source ↗
Insider tip
Deals like these only help if you can say what they mean. Learn the framework in our commercial awareness guide, and the paid Weekly News Digest breaks down one Hong Kong deal a week, what happened, why it matters, and how to talk about it in an interview.
Interview & selection intel
What does the Hogan Lovells Hong Kong selection process look like?
Hogan Lovells publishes more about its graduate assessment than about the Hong Kong interview day specifically, so read the stages as a firm-wide guide and expect the Hong Kong route to turn on the vacation scheme.
The graduate application runs an online form (personal statement, CV and transcript), then the Watson Glaser critical-thinking test, then an assessment centre with a case-study exercise, a written exercise and a competency interview. The firm has said publicly that Watson Glaser is part of its process, and candidates report a second critical-thinking check on the assessment day itself. In Hong Kong, because offers go mainly to people who did a scheme, the four weeks act as one long interview rather than a single make-or-break meeting.
Strip it back and the questions are predictable at this tier. Why Hogan Lovells and why Hong Kong, answered as a commercial choice rather than a passion speech. Whether you can hold a real conversation about a live deal or a market story. And whether your language range and manner fit a mainland-facing client base. Expect to talk through a problem and then defend your reasoning when someone pushes back. Our guide to the Hong Kong vacation scheme interview walks through how these conversations actually run.
How to stand out
How do you stand out for Hogan Lovells Hong Kong?
Because there are only three or four offers a year and most go to scheme students, your edge comes from a sharp written application, genuine commercial awareness, and treating the four-week scheme as the real interview. Here is where to put your preparation.
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1Win the written application, then treat the scheme as the real interview. With only three or four offers a year, and most going to scheme attendees, the application gets you in and the four weeks on the desk decide it. Build answers around achievement and commercial reasoning, not a list of duties, in the Law Firm Application Academy.
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2Take the Watson Glaser seriously. Hogan Lovells uses it as a real gate, and there is a second critical-thinking check at the assessment centre, so it is worth drilling to a format you can trust; start with our guide to mastering the Watson Glaser test. The Watson Glaser Academy builds the reasoning patterns the test rewards.
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3Be able to talk about a Hong Kong deal and a Hong Kong dispute. This office earns on mid-cap listings and on heavyweight litigation and restructuring, so walk in able to explain a recent HKEX IPO and why a matter like the Tsinghua keepwell ruling mattered to bondholders. Build that reasoning in the Online Case Study Centre and the Mock Assessment Centre, then pressure-test your delivery with coaching.
Quick answers
Hogan Lovells Hong Kong, in five questions
How many training contracts does Hogan Lovells offer in Hong Kong?
The intake is small. Hogan Lovells makes only about three to four Hong Kong training-contract offers a year, and they go primarily to people who did a vacation scheme.
How do you get a training contract at Hogan Lovells Hong Kong?
Through the summer vacation scheme. Hogan Lovells runs two four-week schemes in the Hong Kong office, one in June and one in July, taking roughly six or seven students each, and offers go mainly to scheme attendees. The four weeks do most of the assessing.
Does Hogan Lovells Hong Kong use the Watson Glaser test?
Yes. Watson Glaser is part of its graduate process, and candidates report a second critical-thinking check at the assessment centre, so timed critical-reasoning practice matters here.
What does the Hogan Lovells Hong Kong training contract look like?
It runs two years across three six-month practice-group seats plus a six-month secondment to one of the firm's international offices. You need the Hong Kong PCLL before you start, and the firm pays for the PCLL and any conversion exams and provides a stipend for living costs.
What does Hogan Lovells look for in Hong Kong applicants?
An excellent academic record, real commercial and current awareness, and strong communication. English fluency is a prerequisite, and Cantonese and Mandarin are strongly desirable given how much of the work is mainland-facing.