US firm

Morgan Lewis

Q: Does Morgan Lewis run an internship in Hong Kong?

Yes. Morgan Lewis runs four-week internships in June and December each year, with up to 12 places in each scheme. They are open to penultimate-year law students and graduates, and the firm selects its trainees from these two intakes.

Q: How many trainees does Morgan Lewis take in Hong Kong?

Up to four trainees a year, recruited across its two internship intakes. The training contract runs two years across four practice areas including banking and finance, corporate transactions, litigation and investment management.

A US firm whose Hong Kong office runs on funds, finance and disputes for China and Asia, and recruits up to four trainees a year from twin summer and winter internships rather than a single vacation scheme.

Category: US firm
Origin: Philadelphia/US; a separate HK general partnership registered with the Law Society
HK presence: Office in The Landmark, Central; part of a Beijing–Shanghai–HK Greater China network
HK strengths: Funds & private equity, banking & finance, capital markets, disputes, investment management

The Hong Kong practice

What does Morgan Lewis's Hong Kong office actually do?

Morgan Lewis runs its Hong Kong office as the hub of a Greater China network that spans Beijing and Shanghai, advising on business, regulatory, governmental and litigation matters for clients doing business across China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. The practice is strongest in funds and private equity, banking and finance, capital markets and investment management, with a substantial disputes and regulatory bench alongside. In Hong Kong the firm practises as a separate general partnership registered with the Law Society. Source ↗

Where the office consistently shows up in public deal reporting is private capital: it acts for the big pre-IPO and cornerstone investors, the sovereign and venture funds, on the year's landmark China listings and financings rather than sponsoring the listings itself. The Legal 500 ranks it for private equity and for capital markets debt in Hong Kong, and it has picked up recognition for its China offshore bond work. Source ↗

For a trainee, that investor-side focus shapes the work. The training contract rotates through banking and finance, corporate transactions, litigation and investment management, so you spend time on live financings, fund formation and cross-border disputes. It is a smaller, more finance-led programme than the IPO factories, and the intimacy of the office means real responsibility comes early.

Internship & trainee programme

How do you get into Morgan Lewis Hong Kong?

The route in is the internship. Morgan Lewis runs two four-week internships a year, in June and December, with up to 12 places in each, and recruits up to four trainees across those two intakes. There is no separate open vacation scheme to sidestep them: the internships are the pipeline. The full detail sits on the firm's students and trainees careers page.

4trainees a year, recruited across two internship intakes

12internship places in each of the June and December schemes

2year training contract across four practice areas

Route inFour-week internships in June and December, up to 12 places each. Trainees are chosen from these two intakes.
Intake sizeUp to four trainees a year. Open to penultimate-year law students and graduates.
The contractTwo years across four practice areas: banking and finance, corporate transactions, litigation and investment management, with possible secondments to other Morgan Lewis offices.
Application windowsTraining contracts and winter internships: February–May. Summer internships: November–January.
How to applyEmail HKRecruiting@morganlewis.com with a cover letter on your career goals, academic transcripts and a CV indicating language skills.

Watch out

There are two separate windows, and the winter internship shares its window with the training contract (February–May) while the summer scheme is applied for in November–January. Confuse them and you miss a whole intake. Check the current dates on the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker before you apply.

Recent matters worth knowing

Which recent deals has Morgan Lewis's Hong Kong office run?

These are recent, publicly reported matters where Morgan Lewis advised on landmark Hong Kong and China transactions. They cluster on the investor side of big listings and financings, which is exactly the work its trainees touch.

Haitian's HK$10.1bn Hong Kong IPOJune 2025

Morgan Lewis acted for cornerstone investor HongShan on Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food's roughly HK$10.1bn listing, the largest consumer-sector IPO in Hong Kong in 2025 and the first seasoning company to achieve a dual A+H listing. Source ↗
Geek+ robotics HKEX IPO2025

Morgan Lewis advised pre-IPO investors Warburg Pincus and B Capital on Geek+'s HK$2.7bn listing, the largest IPO by a robotics company and the first H-share company to adopt a weighted voting rights structure. Source ↗
ANTA's EUR1.5bn convertible bonds2024–25

Morgan Lewis advised on ANTA Sports' EUR1.5bn zero-coupon secured convertible bonds, listed on the Singapore and Hong Kong exchanges, issued by a leading Chinese sports goods maker. Source ↗
2025 Best Legal Counsel, China offshore bondsFebruary 2026

Morgan Lewis was ranked 2025 Best Legal Counsel (International) in the DMI China Offshore Bond Awards, recognition anchored on its Hong Kong office's cross-border financing work. Source ↗

Insider tip

Notice Morgan Lewis is usually on the investor side, not the issuer side. Saying "you advised cornerstone and pre-IPO investors on Haitian and Geek+" shows you actually understand the office, not just the deal. Build that habit with our commercial awareness guide, and the Weekly News Digest breaks down one Hong Kong deal a week.

Interview & selection intel

What does the Morgan Lewis Hong Kong selection process look like?

The published process is simple and human. You apply by email with a cover letter, transcripts and a CV that flags your languages, and successful applicants are invited to an interview with one to two partners at the Hong Kong office. Morgan Lewis does not publish a Hong Kong aptitude test or a multi-stage assessment centre, so prepare for a partner conversation rather than a psychometric gauntlet.

The internship then does the heavy lifting. Because trainees are chosen from the June and December intakes, the four-week scheme is an extended working interview, and the small trainee numbers mean the bar to convert is high. What the firm screens for is on the record: consistently strong academics, strong communication, interpersonal and legal research skills, analytical thinking, commercial awareness, and fluency in written and spoken English and Putonghua.

That last point is not decoration. The office is China-facing and investor-side, so Putonghua is treated as a genuine requirement, not a nice-to-have. Expect the interview to test why funds and finance, why Morgan Lewis's investor-side model, and whether you can talk about a live deal with judgment. Our guide to the Hong Kong vacation scheme interview shows how these conversations run.

How to stand out

How do you stand out for Morgan Lewis Hong Kong?

With up to four trainee places and a partner-led, internship-driven process, the edge is a targeted written application, genuine finance fluency, and treating the internship as the interview it is. Here is where to put your preparation.

1The cover letter is the whole first stage, so make it specific: funds and finance, the investor-side model, your Putonghua. Run every claim through the "So What" test so it reads as evidence. Cut the usual errors with our guide to the top mistakes on HK applications, and the Law Firm Application Academy drills the written craft.

Law Firm Application Academy →
2The internship is a four-week working interview and conversion is competitive. Interviewers want commercial, case-style reasoning; it helps to know how firms mark case studies first. Practise on real problems in the Online Case Study Centre and pressure-test yourself in the Mock Assessment Centre.

Online Case Study Centre →Mock Assessment Centre →
3A partner interview and a small office mean fit and communication are decisive. One-to-one coaching is the fastest way to sharpen how you talk about deals and handle follow-up questions, in English and Putonghua.

In-person coaching →

Quick answers

Morgan Lewis Hong Kong, in five questions

Does Morgan Lewis run an internship in Hong Kong?

Yes. Morgan Lewis runs four-week internships in June and December each year, with up to 12 places in each scheme. They are open to penultimate-year law students and graduates, and the firm selects its trainees from these two intakes.

How many trainees does Morgan Lewis take in Hong Kong?

Up to four trainees a year, recruited across its two internship intakes. The training contract runs two years across four practice areas including banking and finance, corporate transactions, litigation and investment management.

How do you apply to Morgan Lewis Hong Kong?

By email to HKRecruiting@morganlewis.com with a cover letter describing your career goals, academic transcripts and a CV indicating language skills. The window for training contracts and winter internships is February to May; for summer internships it is November to January. Successful applicants interview with one to two Hong Kong partners.

What does Morgan Lewis look for in Hong Kong applicants?

Consistently strong academics, strong communication, interpersonal and legal research skills, analytical thinking, commercial awareness, and a high level of fluency in written and spoken English and Putonghua.

What is Morgan Lewis's Hong Kong office known for?

Its Hong Kong office advises on business, regulatory, governmental and litigation matters across China and Asia, and is recognised for funds and private equity, capital markets and China offshore bond work. It regularly advises major private capital investors on landmark China deals.