Back to London

After a fantastic six months in Hong Kong, it was time to head back to London...

I’ve now qualified as a Solicitor (England & Wales) and am now an “Associate” of the firm. Upon qualification, Linklaters lawyers take up a permanent position in one of the firm’s many departments. I’ve chosen to come to the Corporate Department here in London.

Before actually starting in my department, though, I attended a two-week “Corporate Foundations Course”. The first week of the course is attended by newly qualified lawyers from all the firm’s offices around the world. During the week, we attended lectures from senior practitioners within the firm and undertook a series of group-based problem-solving activities covering a broad range of corporate transactions. It was great getting to know our colleagues from our international offices. At times, there would be representatives from 8 offices on 4 continents, all at one table. The second week of the course was attended principally by new Associates from the London office and focussed in detail on UK law and practice.

Of course, the firm put on many social events during the two weeks to give us all an opportunity to network and bond as a group. One of the highlights (for the non-Londoners at least!) was a ride on the London Eye.

In my next post, I’ll let you know how my first month as an Associate is going...

It has been a very busy month

It has been a very busy month since arriving back from Christmas. We are acting for a private equity client that is looking to make a large acquisition of a business with most of its operations in China. Our work on this has so far involved getting our minds around the structure of the business and undertaking our legal due diligence (basically checking the key legal documents to ascertain whether there are any legal or commercial impediments to the transaction being contemplated). Due diligence can be a long and arduous process, but can also be a great learning exercise if you are interested in how large businesses work. You need to learn fast, as the partner on the deal is relying on you to do a thorough check and will expect you to be able to discuss with him or her the high level, often complex issues arising out of the documents.

Aside from work, we are approaching Chinese New Year so Hong Kong is abuzz with all the locals heading home and looking forward to spending some time off work with their families. For my part, I'm using the time off to fly up to Japan for a few days, where I'm hoping to do a day's skiing and maybe even catch a sumo wrestling match. Come to think of it, I better go as I have to start packing!!!

Frank Sinatra carols in the shopping malls...

Were it not for all the Frank Sinatra carols playing in the shopping malls of Central Hong Kong, I wouldn’t have believed that it was nearly December.

This month has been another really busy one for the Linklaters trainees in Hong Kong. In terms of work, my month has been a pretty typical one for a trainee, with some very busy times but some quieter periods as well. Most of my time at the moment is being spent working on a  reorganisation that we are carrying out on behalf of a large bank in Asia –  quite good work as a trainee, as you get to be heavily involved in drafting a lot of the key documents and can get a lot of direct client exposure as you begin to develop a good grasp of the various facets of the overall transaction.

In mid-November, a number of the trainees from our Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo offices came out to visit us. Linklaters has its own “junk” (basically a big boat with two full time crew) so we took that out to one of the islands around Hong Kong where we had a BBQ and did some wakeboarding. The following weekend, a bunch of us caught a train out to Zhaoqing in mainland China. This weekend it’s a beach holiday in Sanya, Hainan province and then after that we’re off to Yangshuo for some river rafting and bike riding… will write again when I get back.

My first month in Hong Kong

Well, it has been just over a month since I touched down at Chep Lap Kok airport, Hong Kong, and what a month it has been!

Work so far has been great. The Hong Kong office is an interesting mix of native Hong Kong lawyers, lawyers from mainland China, English-qualified lawyers, and a fair few aussie and kiwi lawyers thrown in for good measure. Many of the lawyers and support staff out here are on short- or long-term secondments from the London office.

I am currently working on one merger and acquisition (“M&A”) deal and one initial public offering (“IPO”). The work that I do varies a lot from day to day and from deal to deal. On the M&A deal, I have been assisting my “principal” (the senior lawyer who I share an office with) in analysing the contractual and commercial position of the bidder and providing advice as to the merits and proposed structure of the transaction. On the IPO, I have been involved in advising the underwriting banks of their responsibilities under Hong Kong’s Listing Rules.

Both of these deals are currently in the early stages, so my hours at work have so far been quite good.

The long nights I have endured so far have all been on the social scene! The bars and clubs of Hong Kong are great fun and also a good place to catch up with secondees from other firms. A warning, though: while a big night out in London might involve a 3 or 4am finish, it is not unusual to find oneself in a packed bar in Lan Kwai Fong or Wanchai at 7 in the morning…

Welcome to my blog!

I am a trainee at Linklaters and have just arrived in Hong Kong for a six month secondment. Over the next six months, I’ll be telling you a bit about what it is like to be a trainee solicitor at Linklaters and, in particular, tell you about my experiences as a secondee to the firm’s Hong Kong office.

I began working at Linklaters in March 2006. I’m from Brisbane, Australia, and was hired through the firm’s Australian Clerkship programme. I studied a combined Commerce/Law degree at the University of Queensland, was flown over to London in November 2004 for the clerkship (or “vac scheme”, as it is known in the UK) and was made an offer of full-time employment at the end of the four-week scheme.
Since starting with the firm, I have completed six-month rotations (which we refer to as “seats”) in three groups within the firm: Structured Finance, Corporate and Project Finance. My current seat in Hong Kong is in Corporate also.

I have been in Hong Kong for only four days but am loving it so far. There are eight trainees from Linklaters currently on secondment in Hong Kong. The firm provides accommodation for us right near the central business district. We’re all really enjoying the Hong Kong nightlife, checking out the bars in Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai. This Wednesday was a public holiday so a group of us caught the ferry over to Macau where we played a few hands at a couple of the incredible new casinos over there.
Work-wise, it looks like it will be a very busy six months, with quite a few merger and acquisition deals in the pipeline. In my next entry, I’ll tell you a bit about the sort of work I have been doing over here…But for now, back to work!