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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, with China-office FLIC and internship opportunities subject to current vacancies and qualification requirements.

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 a major battery-sector IPO 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?

Recruitment update — 23 September 2026: The firm’s China careers page advertises FLIC and internship opportunities through its vacancies portal, without a fixed Hong Kong student-scheme calendar.

FLIC stands for Foreign Legal / International Consultant. The programme combines introductory training with supervised work on transactions. It is distinct from a published Hong Kong solicitor training contract: read each vacancy’s location and qualification requirements before deciding whether it fits your intended route.

For China offices, including Hong Kong, the firm lists hk.recruitment@kirkland.com as its recruiting contact and requests a CV, cover letter and law-school transcript. Recruiting contacts ↗ Ask about current vacancies and the applicable pay and qualification arrangements. London trainee numbers and US associate salaries should not be assumed to apply to a Hong Kong internship or FLIC position.

A useful application connects your experience to the office’s private equity, M&A, funds, finance or restructuring work. Be ready to discuss a recent transaction and the commercial problem the lawyers were solving.

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.

  1. Longsys' HK$7.08bn Hong Kong IPOSeptember 2026

    Kirkland represented the joint sponsors, CITIC Securities and Citigroup, and the underwriters on semiconductor-memory company Longsys' Hong Kong listing. The HK$7.08bn figure is before the over-allotment option. Distinguish its bank-side role from Latham's role for the issuer on the same transaction. Official source ↗

  2. 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 ↗

  3. 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 ↗

  4. 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). Source ↗

  5. 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. At the time of listing it was Hong Kong's largest IPO in four years and the largest globally in 2025 to date. Source ↗

  6. 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?

The current China careers page does not set out a fixed sequence of Hong Kong assessments or confirm whether a particular vacancy uses an aptitude test. Check the invitation for the role you apply to; the London process is not evidence of the Hong Kong process.

Prepare to explain the relevant practice area, your intended qualification route and your contribution to a lean deal team. A precise discussion of a buyout, fundraise or restructuring is useful preparation. Our Hong Kong interview guide can help you organise those answers.

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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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?

The China careers page advertises Foreign Legal / International Consultant (FLIC) and internship opportunities. Check the current vacancy and contact hk.recruitment@kirkland.com. A FLIC role is not automatically a Hong Kong solicitor training contract.

What does training at Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong look like?

Responsibilities depend on the advertised practice and role. The office handles private equity, capital markets, funds, restructuring and disputes. Confirm the intended qualification route with recruiting rather than assuming that a FLIC position follows a four-seat Hong Kong traineeship.

What does Kirkland & Ellis pay?

We have not verified a current public Hong Kong graduate salary. Ask recruiting about the package for the specific role; US or London associate figures should not be treated as Hong Kong trainee pay.

Does Kirkland & Ellis use the Watson Glaser test?

The current China careers page does not confirm a fixed Hong Kong assessment sequence or a Watson Glaser requirement. Follow the instructions for the vacancy and any assessment invitation; do not infer the Hong Kong process from London recruitment.

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.

Build your Kirkland & Ellis application

Turn this intel into an offer

A Kirkland application lives or dies on commercial reasoning and how you handle the partner interview. Elite Pathfinder trains both, with materials built for Hong Kong applications and assessment centres.

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