Our Training Contract

Our Training Contract is designed to give you the best opportunities and support alongside high-quality work.

Applications for our 2026 intake open on 1st September 2025 and will close at short notice on a rolling basis. This application process will not involve a placement scheme but will still include a final round of interviews in the office.

Applications for our 2028 trainee intake should be made by applying for a Placement Scheme. Applications open on 1st September 2025 and close on 2nd January 2026 (midday UK time).

Eligibility requirements

We’re looking for aspiring solicitors who are ideally trilingual (English, Mandarin and Cantonese), with strong reading and writing skills in English and Chinese.  

You’ll ideally be on track for or have achieved a 2:1 (or equivalent) in your undergraduate degree (see more details below) and will also need to have the Right to Work in Hong Kong.

Legal Studies

You will need to complete a qualifying law degree. You’ll then go on to study the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL). We do not have a preferred provider for this course. We are able to offer financial assistance for the PCLL. 

To be eligible for our 2026 intake, you’ll need to complete your PCLL before September 2026.

To be eligible to apply for our 2028 intake, you’ll need to ensure your studies align timing wise to complete your PCLL by September 2028. Typically, this means you’ll be in your 2nd year of a law degree or final year of a non-law degree in order to undertake relevant conversion courses.

Your Induction 

You will start your Training Contract in September with an induction week in our London office alongside the UK and other international Trainees – you’ll receive talks and training from different business areas and get to know other trainees from the global offices. From week 2, you’ll start working in your first designated practice area from the Hong Kong office, with support from your wider team who will give you practice area specific training designed to get you started in your first seat.

Seat Rotations

You’ll rotate around the business across your two-year programme, giving you the opportunity to experience a range of different practice areas and engage in high quality work with both private and commercial clients. Each rotation usually lasts six months. You will be asked which areas you are interested in working in and we will try to accommodate your preferences as much as we can. We do this through a series of conversations with our Early Talent team and partners locally so we can understand your motivations and what areas of law you are interested in.  

The different areas of law that trainees may experience during their training contract include:

• Litigation
• Private Client (Tax, Trusts and Succession)
• Family
• Real Estate
• Corporate

Wider Support and Development Opportunities

For each seat you will be assigned a dedicated supervisor who will work with you to ensure that you continue to receive a broad range of quality work and that you are developing the required skills and knowledge as you progress through your seats. As well as on-going feedback you will have mid and end of seats reviews where you can formally discuss your development. 

We actively encourage our Trainees to go on an international secondment to the London office and get involved beyond the day-to-day work through our Responsible Business activities, whether that’s through our pro-bono practice, volunteering with our CRS Foundation.

Your legal training will also be supplemented by our CRS Business School which has specific development programmes for each stage of your career, including the Ignite programme which is designed for Trainees to build professional and commercial skills. As part of the Ignite programme, you’ll cover modules from personal effectiveness and organisation to managing your career. You’ll even learn about the commercial side of a law firm. You’ll receive further coaching and mentoring support to further your development.

Furthermore, Russell Up is our award-winning innovation scheme for trainees, aimed at fostering a culture of innovation and empowering our Early Talent to drive change. The programme requires our future lawyers to take the lead on projects that harness the latest legal technology – from AI to document and process automation, application building to data visualisation. Each trainee is tasked with delivering a project that challenges the status quo, working closely with our Legal Technology experts and Knowledge Development Lawyers. Providing a supportive environment for innovative thinking, these projects culminate in practical solutions which trainees share with their practice groups demonstrating tangible value to our Firm and clients. To support this drive for innovation and change, the Firm has established innovation committees across various disciplines.

Benefits

We offer a competitive benefits package.