US firm
Sidley Austin
A US firm whose Hong Kong office runs on HKEX IPOs and equity capital markets, known for leading the exchange's first-of-a-kind listings under its reformed rules, with a four-week summer internship that feeds a two-year Hong Kong training contract.
- Category
- US firm
- Origin
- Chicago, roots to 1866
- HK presence
- Open since 1994; 80+ lawyers, part of a near-200 legal team across five Asia offices
- HK strengths
- Equity capital markets and HKEX IPOs, biotech and tech listings, M&A and private equity, global finance
The Hong Kong practice
What does Sidley Austin's Hong Kong office actually do?
Sidley opened in Hong Kong in 1994 and now runs more than 80 lawyers qualified in Hong Kong, English, US and Singapore law, part of an Asia platform of close to 200 legal professionals across five offices. The office is built around equity capital markets. When a mainland Chinese company lists in Hong Kong, in particular a biotech, tech or consumer issuer, Sidley is one of the firms that gets the call, and the firm says it has represented the largest number of Chinese and international companies in Hong Kong IPOs among international law firms. Source ↗
Its signature is the first-of-a-kind listing. Since HKEX reformed its rules from 2018, Sidley has advised on the first biotech IPO under Chapter 18A (Ascletis Pharma), the first Specialist Technology Company IPO under Chapter 18C (QuantumPharm), and the first completed de-SPAC under the Chapter 18B SPAC regime. Source ↗ That is the work a trainee in a capital markets seat sits close to: prospectus drafting, due diligence and verification, building conditions-precedent checklists, and sitting on working-group calls with sponsors, banks and the other advisers.
Know the current picture before you apply. In February 2026 DLA Piper announced it had hired a 13-lawyer equity capital markets team from Sidley in Hong Kong, led by Sherlyn Lau, a Sidley partner of nearly two decades, so the senior ECM bench is rebuilding even as the IPO pipeline keeps running (Sidley was still closing Hong Kong listings through late 2025, including the deals below). Source ↗ Trainee seats still span capital markets, M&A and private equity, investment funds, global and international finance, disputes and life sciences, so a trainee's exposure runs wider than equity capital markets alone.
Trainee & vacation scheme programme
How do you get into Sidley Austin Hong Kong?
The summer internship is the main way in. It runs four weeks in the Hong Kong office, takes law students in their penultimate year, and rotates you through two practice seats on real work: research, due diligence, and drafting memos and agreements under a lawyer's supervision. It is also the feeder for the training contract, so treat the internship as a four-week interview. The programme details live on Sidley's Hong Kong internship and trainee page, which also lists when the next application window opens.
The training contract runs two years across three or four seats, with mentors at partner and associate level, CPD-approved training, and financial assistance for the PCLL. Seats are available across capital markets, M&A and private equity, investment funds, international finance, dispute resolution, energy, project finance and life sciences. The firm recruits a long way ahead: penultimate-year interns are hired for a training contract roughly two years later, so you are applying well before you would start.
On selection the firm is specific. You need at least a 2:1 (or equivalent) in law, and fluency in both English and Putonghua is a stated prerequisite rather than a nice-to-have, which tells you how much of the work is mainland China facing. Beyond grades and language, Sidley says it wants people who are genuinely interested in the commercial world, analytical, collaborative, and able to show perseverance and initiative. It does not publish an exact Hong Kong trainee intake, and the cohort is small, so every seat is competitive.
Watch out
Deadlines move every cycle, so check the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker instead of trusting last year's date. If you land the internship, the Vacation Scheme Academy covers how to convert it into a training-contract offer.
Recent matters worth knowing
Which recent deals has Sidley Austin'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: HKEX new-economy IPOs, biotech and tech listings, and market-first structures.
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Softcare's US$307m Hong Kong IPONovember 2025
Sidley acted as Hong Kong and US counsel to Softcare on its Main Board listing, which raised about HK$2.38bn (US$306.6m), with CICC, CITIC and GF Capital as joint sponsors. Source ↗
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Wuhan Dazhong Dental's HKEX listingJuly 2025
The firm acted as Hong Kong counsel to sole sponsor Haitong International and the underwriters on the H-share listing of the mainland dental-care group on the Main Board. Source ↗
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TransThera Sciences' Chapter 18A biotech IPOJune 2025
Sidley advised as Hong Kong and US counsel to joint sponsors CITIC Securities and Huatai on the pre-revenue biotech's H-share listing under Chapter 18A. Source ↗
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InnoScience's US$180m Hong Kong IPODecember 2024
The firm acted as Hong Kong and US counsel to joint sponsors CICC and CMB International on the roughly HK$1.4bn (US$180m) Main Board listing of the gallium-nitride chipmaker. Source ↗
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Hong Kong's first completed de-SPAC (Synagistics)October 2024
Sidley advised HK Acquisition Corporation on its business combination with Synagistics, the first de-SPAC transaction and successor listing completed under HKEX's Chapter 18B SPAC regime. Source ↗
Insider tip
Deals like these are only worth raising if you can say what they mean, so learn the framework in our commercial awareness guide. Weekly deal breakdowns like these, what happened, why it matters, and how to talk about it in an interview, sit at the core of the paid Weekly News Digest.
Interview & selection intel
What does the Sidley Austin Hong Kong selection process look like?
Sidley publishes far less about its selection process than the Magic Circle firms, and there is little public candidate detail for the Hong Kong internship, so treat what follows as indicative rather than confirmed. What is clear: you apply for the summer internship in your penultimate year, the firm's Asia graduate recruitment team handles it, and the internship itself, two seats of real work over four weeks, is the assessment that decides a training-contract offer.
Prepare for what a US-firm interview in Hong Kong tests at this tier. Expect to be pressed on why Sidley and why Hong Kong capital markets, answered as a commercial question rather than a prestige one; on whether you can talk sensibly about a live HKEX IPO; and on your Putonghua, which is a genuine working requirement here and not a box tick. Because the internship is real drafting and analysis, they are also reading for how fast you pick things up and how carefully you write. 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 Sidley Austin Hong Kong?
Because the intake is small and the office lives on new-economy listings, your edge comes from a written case specific to Sidley's IPO franchise, rehearsed commercial thinking, and treating the internship as the four-week interview it is. Here is where to put your preparation.
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1Make the written application specific to Sidley's IPO franchise. Generic US-firm prestige lines read as student mindset to the people marking them. Show why a firm built on Hong Kong new-economy listings fits you, and evidence real commercial motivation. The Law Firm Application Academy shows how to build that written case.
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2Walk in able to explain a Hong Kong IPO cold. This office lives on HKEX listings, especially biotech and tech, so be ready to talk through a recent one: who was on it, why it happened, where the risk sat. It helps to know how firms mark case studies first. Build that reasoning in the Online Case Study Centre, keep current with the Weekly News Digest, and drill the real-work format of the internship in the Mock Assessment Centre.
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3Rehearse the interview out loud, in both languages. The partner conversation rewards people who stay commercial under challenge and can switch into Putonghua without missing a beat. Pressure-test your "why Sidley, why Hong Kong" answers with someone who pushes back, through in-person coaching.
Quick answers
Sidley Austin Hong Kong, in five questions
How do you get a training contract at Sidley Austin Hong Kong?
Through the four-week summer internship. It takes penultimate-year law students, rotates you through two practice seats on real work, and feeds the training contract, so the firm hires future trainees from the intern pool roughly two years before they start.
What does the Sidley Austin Hong Kong training contract look like?
It runs two years across three or four seats, with mentors at partner and associate level, CPD-approved training and financial assistance for the PCLL. Seats are available across capital markets, M&A and private equity, investment funds, international finance, dispute resolution, energy, project finance and life sciences.
What grades and languages does Sidley Austin Hong Kong require?
At least a 2:1 (or equivalent) in law, with fluency in both English and Putonghua stated as a prerequisite rather than a nice-to-have, which tells you how much of the work is mainland China facing.
What does Sidley Austin look for in Hong Kong applicants?
Beyond grades and language, Sidley says it wants people who are genuinely interested in the commercial world, analytical, collaborative, and able to show perseverance and initiative.
What does Sidley Austin's Hong Kong office specialise in?
Equity capital markets and HKEX IPOs, especially biotech, tech and consumer listings. Sidley has advised on the first biotech IPO under Chapter 18A, the first Specialist Technology Company IPO under Chapter 18C, and the first completed de-SPAC under the Chapter 18B SPAC regime.