Trainee Opportunities
Tanner De Witt is committed to providing a challenging, rewarding and professional programme for our trainee solicitors. From day one you will be part of a team working on actual cases bringing you into direct contact with clients both in Hong Kong and internationally. You will be expected to think for yourself, but within a nurturing and friendly environment that will help you develop into the most skilled lawyer that you can be.
Ian De Witt, Partner
Trainees spend six months in each department and during that period each trainee is allocated a senior solicitor as support and mentor. The partners of the firm take a personal interest in the development of our trainees and have day-to-day contact with them.
In addition to continuing professional education, including internal and external seminars, we have a commitment to providing personal development, for example technology training and Mandarin classes. You will also have the opportunity to hone your social and networking skills in the many events that we organise or are invited to, ranging from black-tie dinners to golf days and quiz nights.
It is an exciting time to be part of Tanner De Witt. We are increasingly receiving recognition and accolades from many sections of the community in Hong Kong as well as from our peers in the legal profession.
Some thoughts for trainees on how to approach the training contract
Cammie Leung, Trainee Solicitor
- You will find being a trainee solicitor at Tanner De Witt different from being a student. This is a professional organisation, and you will come into direct contact with our clients.
- You are not in competition with your fellow trainees. Each trainee brings unique experiences, skills and personality to the firm and will be judged on their own merits.
- The more you put in, the more you will get out of your two-year training contract. It is up to you to set the pace of your progress.
- Make sure you are involved in the work of all members of your department, not just the partners.
- You can learn relevant skills from everybody here, administrative staff and professional staff.
- Never turn away work — all experience is important.
- The legal work you experience in any six-month period is determined by the market and not by the firm.
- Have a realistic expectation of where you should be after six months — don't expect to be able to do everything that is done in each department.
- Your expectation in each six-month period should be to progress from being a spectator to being a participant in the work of the department.
- By the end of the two-year training contract you should be able to decide (i) whether you want to remain in private practice (based upon what you see of the working lives of the more senior solicitors and partners in the firm) or whether you want to move into some other aspect of the legal profession and (ii) whether your character and method of working is more suited to contentious work or non-contentious work. Once those decisions are made it will be easier for you to plan your future. Please remember that the work you are doing now will almost certainly not be the work you are doing in 10 years or even 5 years. All private practice lawyers are constantly adapting to change.
- Work levels and other factors permitting, the firm would expect to be able to offer successful trainees a position in the firm after qualification.
Please send your CV and supporting documents (including transcripts of public examinations) along with a covering letter for the attention of the Graduate Recruitment Partner at
Personal data collected will be used for recruitment purpose only. Applicants who do not hear from us within 4 weeks may consider their applications unsuccessful and the applications will be destroyed within 6 months.
