HK & regional
Tanner De Witt
An independent Hong Kong firm whose restructuring, insolvency and disputes teams sit on the region's biggest corporate collapses, including the China Evergrande liquidation, built around a training contract so small, up to four trainees a year, that each one picks up real responsibility fast.
- Category
- HK & regional independent
- Origin
- Hong Kong, founded 1999
- HK presence
- Single office in Admiralty (Lippo Centre); about 53 lawyers, 17 partners, roughly 100 staff in total
- HK strengths
- Restructuring & insolvency, dispute resolution & litigation, corporate & commercial, employment and family
The Hong Kong practice
What does Tanner De Witt's Hong Kong office actually do?
Tanner De Witt is an independent Hong Kong law firm founded in 1999, now running about 53 lawyers, including 17 partners, from a single office in Lippo Centre, Admiralty. There is no head office in London or New York setting strategy from a different time zone. The firm describes its own people as a genuinely mixed group, drawn from Hong Kong, mainland China, the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Nepal, India and Canada, and its client base runs from multinational companies and PRC state-linked issuers to high-net-worth families and family offices.
Its reputation rests on the two practices that matter most when a deal goes wrong: restructuring and insolvency, and disputes. Legal 500 ranks the restructuring and insolvency team Tier 1 in Hong Kong, co-chaired by two partners in its Hall of Fame, and the team's own site points to some of the region's defining collapses: acting for the liquidators of China Evergrande Group, work stemming from the Lehman Brothers failure in Hong Kong, and Kaisa Group's offshore debt restructuring. Dispute resolution holds a Legal 500 Tier 2 ranking, and corporate/M&A a Chambers Band 2 among Hong Kong's independent firms. Peers quoted on Chambers point to a specific advantage of staying independent: the firm can, in their words, "clear conflicts quickly" on matters where a Magic Circle or Wall Street firm across the table would rule out a same-network rival.
For a trainee, that balance of contentious and corporate work is the point. You rotate through four six-month seats across four of the firm's five practice groups, Corporate and Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Restructuring and Insolvency, Employment and Family, and because the trainee class tops out at around four a year, you sit close to the partner running the matter rather than several seats back in a queue. A restructuring or disputes seat here can mean live work on an actual liquidation or a contested Court of Appeal case, not a watching brief.
Trainee & vacation scheme programme
How do you get into Tanner De Witt Hong Kong?
Tanner De Witt does not run a vacation scheme the way the Magic Circle firms do; its careers page lists a training contract, plus separate internship and traineeship openings, but no summer vacation scheme. Its stated route in is a direct training-contract application: a covering letter, CV and full academic transcripts, school and university, sent to careers@tannerdewitt.com, with applications missing transcripts not considered. Shortlisted candidates go through two rounds of partner interviews over the summer, each round with two partners, then a written test. Source ↗
The training contract itself takes up to four trainees a year into two years of four six-month seats, rotating across four of five groups: Corporate and Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Restructuring and Insolvency, Employment and Family. An offer is conditional on first-time completion of the PCLL. Excellent English is non-negotiable; Chinese is not required but the firm calls it a distinct advantage, which tracks given how China-facing the corporate, insolvency and disputes work actually is. Source ↗
On what it wants, the firm keeps it plain: strong, consistent academics first. It welcomes local and overseas candidates alike, ideally those who have used time abroad for genuine personal development rather than a CV line. Separate from the training contract, Tanner De Witt also lists internship and traineeship openings for students who want exposure to the firm before committing to a full application.
Watch out
Deadlines move every cycle, so check the Elite Pathfinder deadline tracker instead of trusting last year's date. If an internship or interview turns into a training-contract offer, the Vacation Scheme Academy covers how to convert it.
Recent matters worth knowing
Which recent matters has Tanner De Witt run?
Four recent, public matters that show the range: a flagship liquidation, a cross-border injunction, a Court of Appeal win and a complex family case. Know one or two well enough to talk about them.
-
Cross-border child abduction across Shanghai, Hong Kong and JapanMay 2025
Partners Joanne Brown and Adrian Au acted for a father seeking his child's return in what is reported as Hong Kong's first case to run Hague Convention and non-Hague wardship arguments side by side ([2025] HKCFI 632). The court found the child's habitual residence was Shanghai and ordered the return there. Source ↗
-
Court of Appeal win for the Global Cord Blood Corporation liquidatorsMay 2025
Ian De Witt, Sunny Hathiramani, Samantha Chan and Phoebe Chan acted for the Cayman-appointed liquidators of Global Cord Blood Corporation, defending a Court of Appeal challenge from former directors accused of backdating a US$4 transfer of four Hong Kong subsidiaries. The appeal was dismissed on 21 May 2025. Source ↗
-
Anti-suit injunction over a secret Beijing claimFebruary 2025
Robin Darton and Veronica Chan acted for the liquidators of China City Construction (International) fighting over Miami real-estate sale proceeds, winning an anti-suit injunction, reported as [2025] HKCFI 710, after the defendant filed a parallel claim in Beijing's People's Court. Trainee Tiffany Chan sat on the team. Source ↗
-
Legal adviser to the China Evergrande Group liquidatorsMarch 2024
Tanner De Witt was mandated, alongside Clifford Chance and Karas So, to advise the liquidators of China Evergrande Group, the developer that collapsed owing more than US$300bn, in what the firm calls Hong Kong's largest ever liquidation. The team works on recovery and realisation of assets across the estate. Source ↗
Insider tip
Matters like these are the raw material of a Tanner De Witt 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 Tanner De Witt selection process look like?
Tanner De Witt says more about its process than most Hong Kong independents, but there is still far less public detail than a Magic Circle firm publishes, and some of what follows comes from candidate accounts on Glassdoor rather than the firm itself.
The firm's own guidance points to a covering letter, CV and full academic transcripts sent directly to its recruitment inbox and screened before anyone is invited in. It then runs two rounds of interviews over the summer, each with two partners (a first round in July/August and a second in August/September), and shortlisted candidates sit a written test. Candidates on Glassdoor describe an interview that opens with a short self-introduction and light conversation before moving into behavioural questions, for example how you would handle a sudden tight deadline. Our guide to the Hong Kong vacation scheme interview walks through how these conversations actually run.
There is no publicly reported psychometric or critical-thinking test at this firm, unlike the Watson Glaser hurdle most Magic Circle and US firms use. Strip away the specifics and a Tanner De Witt process tests what any strong Hong Kong independent tests at this tier: can you write and speak precisely under a partner's direct questioning, do you understand why an independent firm operates differently from a network firm, and can you hold a sensible view on a live insolvency or disputes story without a script.
How to stand out
How do you stand out for Tanner De Witt Hong Kong?
With no long vacation scheme as a soft landing, two partners form a view of you in one sitting. Your edge comes from an application built around this firm specifically, a real grasp of a live insolvency or dispute, and a rehearsed interview and written test. Here is where to put your preparation.
-
1Make the written application specific to what Tanner De Witt actually does. This is a firm built on restructuring, insolvency and litigation, not capital markets, so a generic "why Hong Kong law" answer reads as untargeted, and it is one of the top mistakes on HK applications. Show you understand why an independent firm handles conflicts a network firm cannot, and tie your interest to a real collapse or dispute story. The Law Firm Application Academy shows how to evidence that motivation instead of asserting it.
-
2Walk in able to talk about a live Hong Kong insolvency or dispute, not just an IPO. Partner interviews here reward people who can explain what a liquidation or an anti-suit injunction actually does and why a client needed it. Build that reasoning in the Online Case Study Centre and keep current with the Weekly News Digest.
-
3Rehearse the partner interview and the written test under real time pressure. With no long vacation scheme acting as a soft landing, two partners forming a view of you in one sitting is most of the decision. Pressure-test your answers through in-person coaching and practise writing to the clock in the Mock Assessment Centre.
Quick answers
Tanner De Witt Hong Kong, in five questions
How many trainees does Tanner De Witt take a year?
The training contract takes up to four trainees a year into two years of four six-month seats, rotating across four of the firm's five practice groups. Because the class is so small, each trainee picks up real responsibility fast.
How do you get a training contract at Tanner De Witt?
Its stated route in is a direct training-contract application: a covering letter, CV and full academic transcripts, school and university, sent straight to the firm's recruitment inbox, with applications missing transcripts not considered. Shortlisted candidates go through two rounds of partner interviews over the summer, each with two partners, plus a written test.
Does Tanner De Witt use the Watson Glaser test?
No. There is no publicly reported psychometric or critical-thinking test at this firm, unlike the Watson Glaser hurdle most Magic Circle and US firms use. The real test is writing and speaking precisely under a partner's direct questioning.
What does the Tanner De Witt training contract look like?
Two years of four six-month seats, rotating across four of five groups: Corporate and Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Restructuring and Insolvency, Employment and Family. An offer is conditional on passing the PCLL first time.
What does Tanner De Witt look for in applicants?
Strong, consistent academics first. Excellent English is non-negotiable; Chinese is not required but the firm calls it a distinct advantage. It welcomes local and overseas candidates alike, ideally those who have used time abroad for genuine personal development.