The Legal Cheek View
Since its establishment in Beijing over three decades ago, Jingtian & Gongcheng (J&G) has opened offices in China’s key economic centres, including Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Sanya and Hong Kong.
The firm, which is one of China’s eight ‘Red Circle’ law firms, launched in Hong Kong through an association with Mayer Brown JSM in 2015. The association ended in 2018 and six ex-Mayer Brown JSM lawyers, including senior partner Elaine Lo, left to set up a local firm that would become J&G’s Hong Kong office in 2019. Lo leads the office as managing partner, overseeing a team that has grown to 12 partners.
J&G has reputable practices in capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, regulatory, dispute resolution, restructuring and insolvency. It has a steady flow of big-ticket initial public offerings (IPOs), and recently advised Pop Mart, the toy chain known for selling Funko Pop figurines and collectibles, on its Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing. Earlier this year the firm provided advice on Chinese biotech company Laekna’s HK$791 million IPO, which is the largest of its kind to date.
J&G recruits between five to six trainee solicitors each year. Here’s one J&G junior lawyer’s account of their training experience:
“During my traineeship, I was highly involved in all sorts of corporate and commercial matters and had worked closely with partners and associates to work across every aspect of a project, right from the very first day of my training, in which I had plenty of invaluable exposure to strategic discussions with clients, cooperation with various professional parties and liaison with foreign counsels, and I was also encouraged to contribute ideas to and share my thoughts with the team. Being involved in high-level discussions in various projects gave me the opportunity to observe how lawyers come up with strategic solutions in a practical, straightforward and cost-effective manner from clients’ perspectives when dealing with complex legal issues.”
J&G has a collegial and friendly team with an open culture. Partners are said to provide “constant and constructive” feedback. Trainees work in nimble teams which help them receive “bespoke training” whilst being trusted with “real and immediate responsibility”.
J&G occupies suites on 32/F of The Landmark’s Edinburgh Tower in Central. The Landmark is a commercial complex in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district; three office towers (Edinburgh Tower, Gloucester Tower and York House) sit atop a shopping centre featuring high-end brands. The office interior is modern and functional with multi-purpose space. There’s an eclectic mix of artwork on the walls.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic the firm set up an internal fundraising campaign raising nearly HK$1.6 million which went towards the purchase of protective clothing, respirators, cardiovascular monitors and other critical medical supplies for front-line medical workers in the Hubei province.
J&G pays trainees HK$42,000 in the first year of the training contract, rising to HK$44,000 in the second year. Trainees must be fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
The firm runs a winter vacation scheme for three weeks in December to January and a summer vacation scheme for four weeks from June to August. There are twenty and five places on offer for the summer and winter vacation schemes respectively. Prospective applicants can find out more about J&G on WeChat (ID JTGC-LAWFIRM) and Weibo.
Insider Scorecard
Insider Scorecard Grades range from A* to D and are derived from the Legal Cheek Hong Kong Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey of over 100 trainees and junior associates at the leading law firms in Hong Kong.