Job Description

A&O Shearman is a new, global, industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people: opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses, transform the status quo and deliver your best work, helping you and your career thrive while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the way we manage our business or ensuring the smooth running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, are committed to an inclusive environment and offer support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we redefine success.

Application Process

You will be required to submit an online application detailing your work and education history. You will need to submit your CV, a cover letter, and your most recent academic transcript.

You will then receive an email containing a link to complete our online experience. The online experience will include verbal and numerical reasoning items, as well as two short motivation questions to complete via video. The online experience is untimed and should take around 45 minutes.

The online experience is designed to provide a realistic preview of what you may encounter as a trainee at A&O Shearman, as well as give us insight into your motivations. All parts of the online experience must be completed and submitted by the deadline.

As we review applications and invite students to next stage on a rolling basis, we strongly recommend that you complete the online experience within a week of receiving the instruction email.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a business case study interview.

Please note that you may only submit one application per recruitment cycle.

Scheme Overview

Our Summer Vacation Scheme is a unique opportunity designed to show you exactly what it’s like to tackle exciting challenges every day at an industry-leading law firm.

You’ll have the chance to develop valuable skills, gain practical experience and experience global success as part of our friendly, supportive and dynamic culture. Throughout the scheme, you’ll have a range of learning tools at your disposal that will show you what it takes to excel as an international commercial lawyer.

We run two four-week Vacation Schemes in our Hong Kong office every summer, in June and July. Students will need to be available for the entire scheme.

Benefits:

• Gain hands-on experience in an industry-leading law firm
• Develop practical skills and knowledge
• Receive mentorship from experienced legal professionals
• Potential to secure a 2029 Hong Kong training contract and further your career with us based on your vacation scheme performance

Requirements:

Education

• Applications are welcomed from penultimate- and final-year law students, or final-year non-law students, at universities in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other common law jurisdictions.
• We expect you to be on track for at least a 2:1, or equivalent, in your law degree or JD.
• Only candidates eligible for a 2029 training contract start date will be considered.

The offer of a training contract is conditional upon successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) course in Hong Kong. You must complete the PCLL course with one of the university providers in Hong Kong—The Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong or The University of Hong Kong—before starting your training contract.

• If your law degree or JD is from an overseas university, you will need to complete PCLL conversion exams prior to starting the PCLL course.
• For candidates who have accepted our training contract, we will reimburse the conversion examination fees for their first attempt.
• More information can be found online at: https://www.pcea.com.hk

Skills:

To set yourself apart from the competition and to succeed in our high-performing firm, you’ll need to be:

• Open-minded
• Innovative
• Collaborative
• Critical thinker

Spoken Mandarin and Cantonese, as well as the ability to read and write either simplified or traditional Chinese, are highly desirable. Other Asian language skills are also relevant for this region.

More information on the attributes we look for can be found on our Law Career Guide.

Key Dates

• Applications open on 14 September 2026 and close on 7 December 2026 at 5.00pm HK time.
• Please be advised we recruit on a rolling basis. We will review your application only when all parts of the online experience have been completed and submitted.