My International Experience in…Hong Kong
Destination: Hong Kong
Since starting my Juris Doctor, I had always been interested in gaining international experience early on in my career. Fortunately, I was able to spend six months on secondment with Clifford Chance in the Hong Kong office during 2019 to 2020 and finished my secondment just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Hong Kong was the perfect secondment destination for me because Hong Kong is one of the leading financial hubs in the Asia Pacific region. Gaining experience in a leading financial hub early on in my career helped me excel in other practice areas when returning to Australia, leverage my international experience and adopt a broader perspective to working cross-culturally.
Whilst on secondment, I worked in the Funds & Investment Management team which is part of the Corporate practice at Clifford Chance. Being six months into my graduate program, and with all my experience pre-secondment being in litigation and dispute resolution matters, jumping into a front-end corporate seat was a big change. However, I found the challenges exciting and the experience invaluable, and can't wait for the next opportunity to travel again (once the borders open).
International secondments with Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance – being one of the few truly international law firms in the Australian market with over thirty offices across five continents – provides its junior lawyers the opportunity to work on cross-jurisdictional matters early in their career. It is evident that Clifford Chance is committed to their graduates' professional development in cross-jurisdictional work through the inclusion of an international secondment as one of the rotations in the graduate program.
Prior to my secondment, the firm worked with me to identify which skills I would like to develop whilst on secondment, paired me with a team that needed a graduate secondee for six months in Hong Kong and arranged all of my visas, flights, accommodation and logistics. During the secondment, I also received support from the Hong Kong human resources (HR) team – regular check-ins to make sure my secondment was going smoothly and that I was enjoying working with the Funds & Investment Management team. The HR team engaged with the secondees and helped us widen our network while practising overseas.
Living and working in Hong Kong
Working in an international firm, I found the cultures in the Perth office and the Hong Kong office surprisingly similar. In particular the easy-to-get-along-with nature of the partners and other team members made the transition seamless. However, I know this is not always the case, so it is best to be prepared to be agile to new working styles, personalities and expectations that often differ from one country to another.
Living in Hong Kong was very different to living in quiet Perth. Shops, restaurants and bars are open late into the evening and before you know it, it is already midnight. There is always something to do and a new place to try. However, the number of people living in such a dense area can sometimes be overwhelming, particularly on a tram in the middle of a hot, Hong Kong summer!
Some of my favourite memories of living in Hong Kong involved exploring the vast food scene Hong Kong has to offer, including the cha chaan tengs (the local version of small cafes in Perth), apartment restaurants and wet food market dinning halls. I find that food is such a big part of different cultures and always provides a common ground with most people you meet. I also enjoyed experiencing all the outdoor activities Hong Kong has to offer including the many hiking trails on the outlying islands of Hong Kong (Lamma Island is still my favourite) and exploring Kowloon which is part of Hong Kong and accessible via different transportations (by train, by bus or by ferry). There aren't many cities where you can work in a leading financial hub, take a 20-minute ferry to spend the day at a sandy beach and then be back in the CBD for a pub crawl that evening!
Benefits of international experience
Since returning from my secondment, I have found the core benefit of my secondment was the further development of my skills and the experience of working cross-culturally. Working in a new culture requires you to be agile, adaptable and to understand how to respond to new social situations. I have been able to take this experience back to Australia when working on cross-border deals with clients who are based in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions.
During secondment, I was also able to gain exposure to practice areas that are not as common in Perth, such as investment funds and working with Cayman counsel. This allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of other markets. Naturally when in a new city, I created an entirely new network, both within Clifford Chance and with lawyers from other firms, and I am now fortunate enough to have a number of friends across different countries.
General tips for young lawyers looking to gain international experience
As a junior lawyer looking to gain international experience, I believe there are a couple of key things you can do to increase your chances to achieve this goal. These are just observations from my experience so far.
First, if you are still a law student looking into clerkships and training contracts, keep an eye out for international law firms in the Asia Pacific region that advertise clerkship programs and training contracts to Australian law students. There is usually a demand for Australian law students and qualified Australian qualified lawyers in Hong Kong, Singapore and other parts of the world. These clerkship and training contract opportunities may provide you the chance to gain international experience early on in your career.
In my experience, international opportunities tend to mostly come up in either front-end (e.g. banking or M&A) or arbitration practice areas – so choosing to focus on one of these may assist you with future moves; though my overall advice would always be try and practice in an area that you genuinely enjoy.
If you are already practicing, don't be afraid to be proactive and try gaining as much experience or exposure in either international or cross-border transactions in your current workplace. This experience will be helpful in advancing your application.
Lastly, if gaining international experience is something you are truly passionate about, don't let any setbacks take their toll as these things take time. Keep building your experience where possible and identifying new opportunities.
Good luck!