US firm
Kirkland & Ellis
A US firm whose Hong Kong office runs on private equity, big-ticket M&A and the restructuring of China's largest corporate defaults, and whose trainees enter a transactional programme built around that deal flow on US-scale pay.
- Category
- US firm
- Origin
- Chicago, founded 1909
- HK presence
- Opened 2006, the firm's first office in Asia; grown to nearly 100 lawyers
- HK strengths
- Private equity, cross-border M&A, capital markets, restructuring, disputes
The Hong Kong practice
What does Kirkland & Ellis's Hong Kong office actually do?
Kirkland opened in Hong Kong in 2006, its first office in Asia, and has built it to nearly 100 lawyers. The office does not chase the full-service issuer-and-bank capital markets model that the Magic Circle firms run. It is built around private equity and the transactions that sponsors drive: buyouts, take-privates of Hong Kong-listed companies, fund formation, and the acquisition and leveraged finance underneath them. Legal 500 and Chambers rank the office at or near the top of the market for private equity, restructuring and fund formation in the region.
Three engines run the practice. Private equity and M&A, where the firm acts for sponsors on sponsor-led buyouts and de-listings. Capital markets, where it advises on some of the largest China IPOs on the HKEX. And restructuring, where Kirkland acts for ad hoc groups of noteholders in the offshore debt restructurings of China's distressed property developers. In 2025 the Hong Kong office worked on the largest IPO globally that year and on two of the biggest Chinese property restructurings ever sanctioned by the Hong Kong court. All are below.
For a junior lawyer, that positioning sets what you touch. The work is transactional and document-heavy: scheme documents, due diligence, conditions-precedent checklists and closing mechanics on take-privates, or sitting with a noteholder committee on schemes of arrangement that run in parallel across the Hong Kong, Cayman and BVI courts. Kirkland runs lean, high-leverage teams relative to deal size, so juniors tend to pick up responsibility early. The firm practises US and Hong Kong law, and the client base is heavily China-facing.
Getting into the Hong Kong office
How do you get into Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong?
There is no published, UK-style Hong Kong vacation scheme with a fixed intake. The Hong Kong and wider Asia route runs through what Kirkland calls its FLIC programme, its Foreign Legal / International Consultant track set out on the firm's Asia graduates careers page, plus direct application. It pairs early training with on-the-job work on live transactions under partners and associates. The firm's model is transactional first with a private equity specialism at its core, so the Hong Kong route looks different from a Magic Circle traineeship: less breadth across contentious and public-sector seats, far more time inside sponsor deals.
Kirkland publishes far more about its London programme than its Hong Kong one. In London it takes up to around 15 trainees a year against roughly 1,000 applications, across four six-month seats weighted toward corporate, finance and investment funds. Source ↗ For Hong Kong the firm does not publish a fixed intake number; entry runs through the FLIC programme and direct application, and the office points candidates to its Hong Kong legal recruiting team (hk.recruitment@kirkland.com). Source ↗ Treat the London figures as a read on the firm's style, not a Hong Kong headcount.
Pay is the firm's calling card. Kirkland runs on the US (Cravath) pay scale across its offices, at the top of every market it operates in; its published London newly-qualified salary sits at US$225,000. Source ↗ On selection, the firm is blunt about what it wants. Its own recruiter guidance tells applicants to research the firm's private equity clients and deals and to show they follow the PE market, alongside the drive and resilience to work at the pace these deals demand. Strong, consistent academics are the baseline, not the differentiator.
- Route inThe FLIC programme (Foreign Legal / International Consultant track) and direct application, not a fixed vacation scheme. Entrants join a transactional programme built around private equity, not a broad rotational contract. Source ↗
- Intake noteThe firm does not publish a fixed Hong Kong intake. In London it takes up to around 15 trainees a year against roughly 1,000 applications — read that as a style signal, not a Hong Kong headcount. Source ↗
- PayThe US (Cravath) pay scale across all offices, at the top of every market; the published London newly-qualified salary is US$225,000. Source ↗
- What they wantResearch the firm's private equity clients and deals, show you follow the PE market, and bring the drive and resilience the deal pace demands. Strong, consistent academics are the baseline.
- ContactHong Kong legal recruiting team, hk.recruitment@kirkland.com. Source ↗
Watch out
Kirkland does not publish a fixed Hong Kong application deadline, so do not assume a date — apply early and speak to the recruiting team rather than waiting for a scheme to open. Check what is live on the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker rather than trusting last year's date, and grab the free deadline tracker while you plan the 2026-27 cycle. If you do land a scheme or interview, the Vacation Scheme Academy covers how to convert it into an offer.
Recent matters worth knowing
Which recent deals has Kirkland & Ellis's Hong Kong office run?
These are the deals 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 firm is strongest: China property restructurings, large HKEX IPOs and sponsor-led take-privates.
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Country Garden's US$17.7bn offshore restructuringDecember 2025
Kirkland advised the ad hoc group of noteholders on the restructuring of Country Garden's offshore debt, with the Hong Kong court sanctioning the scheme of arrangement in December 2025. It ranks among the largest restructurings of a Chinese property developer in the sector's crisis. Source ↗
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Kaisa's US$16bn debt restructuringSeptember 2025
The firm advised the ad hoc group of noteholders, holding about US$4bn of Kaisa's offshore notes, through parallel schemes of arrangement in the Hong Kong, Cayman and BVI courts, one of the largest schemes by value ever sanctioned in Hong Kong. Source ↗
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AUX Electric's US$532m HKEX IPOSeptember 2025
Kirkland acted on the Hong Kong listing of the air-conditioning maker, which raised HK$4.15bn (US$532m) and was the largest debut listing in Hong Kong that year. Source ↗
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CATL's US$4.6bn HKEX listingMay 2025
The firm represented CATL, the world's largest EV-battery maker, on its Hong Kong IPO, which raised about HK$35.7bn (US$4.6bn), rising to US$5.3bn after the over-allotment. It was Hong Kong's largest IPO in four years and the largest globally in 2025. Source ↗
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ESR's US$7.1bn take-privateDecember 2024
Kirkland advised the consortium led by Starwood Capital, Sixth Street and SSW Partners on its scheme to take ESR Group private at about HK$55.2bn (US$7.1bn), the largest privatisation from the Hong Kong exchange since 2021. Source ↗
Insider tip
Deals like these are the raw material of a Kirkland interview, but only if you can say what they mean. Learn the framework in our commercial awareness guide, and the paid Weekly News Digest breaks down what happened, why it happened, and how to actually use a deal in an interview.
Interview & selection intel
What does the Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong selection process look like?
Kirkland publishes little about its Hong Kong selection process specifically, so most of the public detail comes from its London programme and candidate accounts. Read it as a guide to the firm's style rather than a Hong Kong script.
The London process runs an online application (CV and cover letter) to an online video interview, then an assessment day (candidates report late January and early February) and a final interview with at least two partners. Source ↗ Kirkland's published process is interview-led and does not include a Watson Glaser test; if a firm at this tier does ask you to sit a critical-reasoning test, our guide to mastering the Watson Glaser test and the Watson Glaser Academy build the reasoning it rewards. The partner stage is where the firm's identity shows: candidates report private equity questions and commercial scenarios alongside the standard questions about why law, why Kirkland, and a time you showed resilience.
For Hong Kong, expect the same commercial core. A US firm's Hong Kong process at this tier tests whether you understand private equity as a business rather than a topic, whether you can talk through a live deal (a take-private, a China property restructuring, a large HKEX IPO) and hold your reasoning when someone pushes back, and whether you have the drive to work on lean deal teams. Given the China-heavy client base, Chinese language ability (Mandarin, plus written Chinese) tends to help, though the office leads on US and Hong Kong law transactional work. 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 Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong?
Because the office is won on commercial reasoning and how you handle the partner interview, your edge comes from a private-equity-literate written case, a deal you can talk cold, and rehearsed composure under pressure. Here is where to put your preparation.
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1Build the written application around private equity, not around Kirkland's prestige. The people marking it want evidence that you understand how sponsors make money and why they need lawyers, and that you can tie your own experience to commercial reasoning. Structure that written case in the Law Firm Application Academy.
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2Be able to talk a Kirkland deal cold. Pick a take-private, a China property restructuring or a big HKEX IPO and be ready to explain who was involved, why it happened and where the risk sat. Drill that reasoning in the Online Case Study Centre and keep current with the Weekly News Digest.
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3Rehearse the partner interview under pressure. Kirkland's final stage puts you in front of at least two partners asking private equity and commercial-scenario questions, and it rewards people who stay composed and commercial when challenged. Pressure-test your answers through in-person coaching and the Mock Assessment Centre.
Quick answers
Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong, in five questions
How do you get into Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong?
Through the FLIC programme, Kirkland's Foreign Legal / International Consultant track, and direct application. The firm does not publish a fixed Hong Kong intake number and points candidates to its Hong Kong legal recruiting team at hk.recruitment@kirkland.com.
What does training at Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong look like?
It is transactional first, with a private equity specialism at its core. Compared with a Magic Circle traineeship there is less breadth across contentious and public-sector seats and far more time inside sponsor deals: buyouts, take-privates and China restructurings.
What does Kirkland & Ellis pay?
Kirkland runs on the US (Cravath) pay scale across its offices, at the top of every market it operates in. Its published London newly-qualified salary sits at US$225,000.
Does Kirkland & Ellis use the Watson Glaser test?
There is no public evidence that Kirkland uses the Watson Glaser test. Its published London process runs an online application, a video interview, an assessment day and final interviews with at least two partners, so prepare for commercial and private equity discussion rather than a timed critical-reasoning test.
What does Kirkland & Ellis look for in applicants?
Its recruiter guidance tells applicants to research the firm's private equity clients and deals and to show they follow the PE market, alongside the drive and resilience to work at the pace these deals demand. Strong, consistent academics are the baseline, not the differentiator.