Help! Hong Kong JD graduate, U.S qualified - chances of employment?

[ladbrooke]

Background - Originally from the U.K. I graduated from a U.S. college in Political Science. I have lived as an expat in H.K. (on and off) for the past 8 years. Dedicated to a future in H.K., I learnt Cantonese and am at an advanced level, with reading and writing. I have begun to learn Mandarin also. I returned to HK full-time to study for a JD with the plan to settle in HK permanently.

I graduated last year from CUHK with a Juris Doctor. Unfortunately due to the competitiveness of the market and limited training contracts, I did not study for the PCLL. I decided to look at compliance roles but didn't have any success, subsequently I was forced to return to the U.K due to personal circumstances.

After weighing up the options I decided that an LLM in the U.S with the prospect of passing the NY Bar exam in summer 2015 was the best option in order to continue on the legal career path. I have been offered a place at a top tier law school in the U.S. to start August 2014.

I have been advised that staying in the U.S. after the LLM is unlikely, most graduates return to their home countries. Returning to the U.K will be problematic, with a U.S. undergrad and H.K. postgrad, I am an enigma to most employers. I have found this over the past 8 months looking for work in London.

My only other option is to return to H.K. However Im concerned how firms will view me. The reality is, I failed at becoming a lawyer in HK. Grades were good but not excellent, language skills were interesting but not relevant. I did not intern at a top firm, however I did for the Department of Justice. I am now attempting to get in through the back door.


I'm concerned if the LLM and NY Bar will actually offer me any opportunities at all in H.K.? I feel like I will be in a niche, H.K. JD, U.S. LLM, NY qualified, Cantonese/Mandarin speaking Westerner.

Should I ditch the LLM and focus on compliance roles again?


I would appreciate any advise!

[topmathstutor]

I am planning to study for the JD in CUHK, I m looking for a JD graduate from CUHK to share with me what the course is like and how competitive, grateful if u can give me advice, thank you

[mbabanker]

My background is in equity research for investment banks, but I am also British, and I have studied in Hong Kong, the US and the UK, so I understand where you are coming from with the education enigma.

It seems like you are still a long way from being a near native Mandarin speaker, so your current language level is helpful but probably not hugely advantageous.

The best way forward for your job hunt is to continue trying different approaches. The approach that worked best for me was to get close to the academic community and take part in a highly relevant and commercially orientated academic paper (ie as a researcher for it) - I even suggested it. I got paid little for it, but then I used it as a self- marketing tool by offering to present the paper (and further thoughts from it) to respective professionals. This led to some consultation work for me that I have been able to make a living from. You may also get a lucky break if one of the professors recommends you to a prospective employer for a job or consulting assignment that you would have otherwise never heard about or stood much chance of getting even if you had known about it. I do much of my work in the US now, but it is mainly HK/China related, and as a result I feel my chances of doing full time work in HK, if I wished, are now much greater because I have more relevant experience and more "real" contacts who can verify my professional ability.

I am surprised that you had difficulty in finding a job in compliance (given your strong international background in law), since my understanding was that area had a decent level of demand in HK even for non-fluent Mandarin speakers, however I do agree that it is still a very competitive arena. If you can add recognized US compliance professional qualifications/experience to your CV, I am sure that your chances of finding a related job in HK will increase dramatically (because there is a lot of business interaction between HK and the US). I am assuming that you mean compliance not just in the sense of investment/corporate banking/law firms, but also as internal compliance within non-finance/non-legal organisations.

I have a European friend who studied with me in HK who has some experience as a lawyer from his home country (as well as qualifications); he eventually found a job in HK working as a internal legal counsel for a foreign tech/services company that does a lot of international business. His job is mostly compliance related. He had not previously worked for a law firm in HK, and does not speak Mandarin. That route might work better rather than applying to law firms, the job will certainly be just as interesting, and give you better chances of working for a law firm later if you wanted.

There may be unique issues that exclude you from following the exact same paths that I mentioned above, and these are further obstacles that you will still need to overcome. Or, for whatever reason, you may not want to follow these paths even if you could. The bigger point that I am making, however, is that there are ways of beating what may seem impossible odds if you keep at it and try things that other people may not think of or are not prepared to do.