UK & international
Stephenson Harwood
A London-founded firm whose Hong Kong office, the largest in its Asia network, made its name on shipping, private wealth and disputes, and is now rebuilding its corporate bench to chase Hong Kong's IPO boom.
- Category
- UK & international
- Origin
- London; founded 1875, renamed Stephenson Harwood in 1973
- HK presence
- Open since 1979; the firm's largest office in Asia, at One Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay
- HK strengths
- Shipping & asset finance, private wealth, dispute resolution, plus a corporate team being rebuilt around IPO work
The Hong Kong practice
What does Stephenson Harwood's Hong Kong office actually do?
Stephenson Harwood has practised in Hong Kong since 1979, the first of its Greater China offices and today the largest office in the firm's Asia network, run alongside a Shanghai base under Greater China managing partner Evangeline Quek. Source ↗ Legal 500 places its real strength in shipping and asset finance, a top-tier ranking for shipping finance, and in private client and family work, with dispute resolution, shipping and aviation finance ranked a tier below. Source ↗ A CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) association with mainland firm Wei Tu lets the office run Hong Kong, English and PRC law advice together, useful for a client base of shipowners, banks and private families that often sits on both sides of the border. Source ↗
Corporate is the practice actually in motion. Legal 500 still ranks it well below the office's shipping and private wealth strength, but the firm has spent two years closing that gap. Danny Kan, a former in-house lawyer at Ping An Insurance, joined in January 2024 to build out M&A and compliance work for Chinese state-owned and listed clients. Source ↗ Then in March 2026 the office hired Sammy Li and Samson Suen from Hogan Lovells, two capital markets partners with more than 100 IPOs of experience between them, a direct bet on the city's record listing market (both moves sit below). For a trainee, that means a genuinely newer, higher-growth corporate seat sitting next to a long-established shipping, finance and private wealth engine.
Trainees rotate through seats spanning corporate, disputes, trade, aviation and finance across the two-year contract, with the option of an overseas secondment in Dubai, London, Shanghai or Singapore. Sit in the disputes group and you would be close to the kind of work the team is known for: shareholder and unfair-prejudice claims running past HK$350 million, and HKIAC and ICC arbitrations over cross-border cargo and commercial contracts.
Trainee & vacation scheme programme
How do you get into Stephenson Harwood Hong Kong?
There are two public ways into the Hong Kong training contract: a summer vacation scheme, and a direct application for candidates who skip it. Around 18 students take up the scheme each year, over roughly two weeks in June, with a reported allowance of about HK$2,000 a week (candidates report). Shortlisted applicants describe a short written test on written English and Chinese, alongside a conversational chat with the team; the firm says it will still consider strong applicants who don't have all three languages (English, Cantonese, Mandarin).
The training contract itself runs two years and, per the firm's own careers pages, gives exposure to corporate, disputes, trade, aviation and finance. Source ↗ The firm recruits up to four trainees a year, mostly from the vacation scheme, with a further intake through the direct training contract route for candidates who never sat the scheme. On paper it asks for a 2:1 degree or around a 3.30 GPA, but says it will weigh other strengths for candidates who fall short academically.
Watch out
Deadlines move every cycle, so check the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker instead of trusting last year's date. If you land the scheme, the Vacation Scheme Academy covers how to convert it into an offer.
Recent matters worth knowing
Which recent deals has Stephenson Harwood's Hong Kong office run?
These are the deals and cases 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 and where it is visibly growing: shipping and corporate, private wealth and disputes.
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China Post Hong Kong's amalgamation with Tran GoodsJune 2026
Partner Danny Kan advised China Post Hong Kong Limited, the mainland group's Hong Kong logistics platform, on a vertical amalgamation with fellow group company Tran Goods (Hong Kong), folding the two into one entity under Hong Kong's court-free amalgamation regime. Source ↗
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Two Hogan Lovells partners join the corporate teamMarch 2026
Capital markets partners Sammy Li and Samson Suen moved across from Hogan Lovells, Li bringing more than 100 IPOs of experience and Suen over 15 years in equity capital markets, a direct response to Hong Kong topping global IPO rankings in 2025. Source ↗ Law.asia ↗
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Townlife's Hong Kong insurance brokerage licenceDecember 2025
The firm advised Townlife Holding, jointly owned by the Hong Kong and China Gas Company (Towngas) and FSE Nova, on acquiring a Hong Kong insurance broker licence so the joint venture can sell its own household protection products. Source ↗
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YOOV's reverse merger onto NasdaqMarch 2024
Danny Kan led advice to Hong Kong business-automation platform YOOV Group on a reverse merger into Nasdaq-listed Aptorum Group, leaving YOOV's shareholders in control of the combined, US-listed company. Source ↗
Insider tip
Deals like these are the raw material of a Stephenson Harwood interview, but only if you can say what they mean. Learn the framework in our commercial awareness guide, and the Weekly News Digest breaks down one Hong Kong deal a week and tells you what to actually say about it.
Interview & selection intel
What does the Stephenson Harwood Hong Kong selection process look like?
Little of this is confirmed by the firm itself. Almost everything public comes from candidate reports on Glassdoor, so treat it as a rough guide rather than a script. Applicants describe an online application form, followed for shortlisted candidates by a fairly compact process: a virtual interview with a partner, reported to run about 30 minutes and stay conversational rather than technical, plus a written exercise on an assessment day.
Candidates split into two groups, one sitting the written task (described as straightforward, no legal knowledge required, sometimes built around a balance sheet) while the other interviews, then swapping. Vacation-scheme students who impress are invited back for a further interview toward a training contract offer.
Reported topics include why Stephenson Harwood has an edge over its competitors, a recent business story that caught your interest, why law and why this firm, and questions about deals the firm has worked on, alongside standard competency questions on teamwork and a time you challenged yourself. Glassdoor users rate the overall interview experience 72.7% positive, with a reported difficulty of 3.18 out of 5. The vacation-scheme interview scores higher still, 82% positive at a reported 2.7 out of 5, a notch easier than the graduate process. Our guide to the Hong Kong vacation scheme interview walks through how these conversations actually run.
There is no public sign of a psychometric test like the Watson Glaser here, unlike at several rivals. On the evidence available, the real gate is writing clearly and fast under time pressure, and holding a natural conversation about the firm and the market.
How to stand out
How do you stand out for Stephenson Harwood Hong Kong?
Because the intake is small and won on a lean, conversational process, your edge comes from a targeted written application, a written exercise you have actually practised for, and a partner interview you have rehearsed out loud. Here is where to put your preparation.
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1Ground the written application in what this firm actually is: shipping, private wealth and disputes, plus a corporate team being visibly rebuilt for the IPO market. Generic Magic Circle-style flattery reads as copied homework to the people marking it, and it is one of the top mistakes on HK applications. The Law Firm Application Academy shows how to write specific, evidenced motivation instead.
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2Treat the written exercise on assessment day like it counts. Candidates describe it as shorter and lower-pressure than at bigger rivals, occasionally built around a balance sheet, with no legal knowledge assumed. Practise writing clearly and fast against a clock in the Online Case Study Centre and the Mock Assessment Centre.
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3Rehearse the partner interview out loud. It is reportedly conversational and light on technical traps: why this firm, a recent story you followed, how you handle pressure in a team. That rewards candidates who sound natural under real pushback. In-person coaching gets you that pushback before a partner delivers it for real.
Quick answers
Stephenson Harwood Hong Kong, in five questions
How many trainees does Stephenson Harwood take in Hong Kong?
The intake is small. The firm recruits up to four trainees a year, mostly from its summer vacation scheme, with a further intake through the direct training contract route for candidates who never sat the scheme.
How do you get a training contract at Stephenson Harwood Hong Kong?
There are two public routes: a summer vacation scheme, and a direct training contract application for candidates who skip it. Around 18 students take up the scheme each year, over roughly two weeks in June, and most trainees are recruited from that pool.
Does Stephenson Harwood Hong Kong use the Watson Glaser test?
There is no public sign of a psychometric test like the Watson Glaser here, unlike at several rivals. On the evidence available, the real gate is writing clearly and fast under time pressure, and holding a natural conversation about the firm and the market.
What does the Stephenson Harwood training contract look like?
It runs two years and, per the firm's own careers pages, gives exposure to corporate, disputes, trade, aviation and finance, with the option of an overseas secondment in Dubai, London, Shanghai or Singapore.
What does Stephenson Harwood look for in applicants?
On paper it asks for a 2:1 degree or around a 3.30 GPA, but says it will weigh other strengths for candidates who fall short academically. Shortlisted applicants sit a short written test on written English and Chinese alongside a conversational chat with the team.