Legal Internship Programme at Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Hong Kong Office (Remunerated; Terms of Two Months, Applicants from Abroad Considered)

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) offers internships at its Hong Kong office to motivated students or other individuals in the early stages of their legal careers who wish to learn more about arbitration and alternative dispute resolution in Hong Kong and generally. HKIAC describes the internship as a practical educational experience: interns principally assist the Secretariat in discharging its day-to-day duties and, under supervision, are given tasks and projects relevant, as far as possible, to their educational background and interests.

HKIAC states that it limits its intake to a small number of interns annually despite the large number of applications it receives.

• Undertake research on various topics in international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.
• Assist the case management team in administering arbitration, mediation, adjudication and domain name cases.
• Draft articles and prepare materials.
• Attend and assist with planning hearings, meetings, seminars and conferences.
• Compile case statistics.
• Translate documents.

The programme operates year round and is generally divided into six terms of two months each: Term 1 (January and February), Term 2 (March and April), Term 3 (May and June), Term 4 (July and August), Term 5 (September and October) and Term 6 (November and December). Internships are generally offered for periods of six to eight weeks and usually begin on the first Monday of the month in which the term commences.

Applications for periods that do not fall strictly within these terms will be considered, though HKIAC says it may not always be able to accommodate such requests.

• Be highly motivated and able to work well in an international and multicultural environment.
• Have excellent academic qualifications.
• Hold an undergraduate degree or be in the final stages of your studies.
• Be able to demonstrate good communication and drafting skills.
• Be fluent in written and spoken English (fluency in other languages is an advantage).
• Have excellent attention to detail, organisational and interpersonal skills, and a pro-active, responsible, problem-solving attitude.
• Have a good standard of computer literacy, especially Microsoft Office.
• Be available to work on a full-time basis for the period of the internship.

HKIAC states: "Applicants from Hong Kong and abroad will be considered."

HKIAC interns are remunerated pursuant to Hong Kong law. HKIAC also reimburses interns for any out of pocket expenses incurred directly as a result of work. No specific amount is published.

• The completed Application Form (Form IP1).
• A short CV, including nationality, and university transcripts.
• A statement of interest describing your objectives in seeking an internship with HKIAC, not exceeding one A4 page.
• Your availability, including the applicable term and requested duration.
• Areas of particular interest.
• Your language abilities, spoken and written.

Complete Application Form IP1 and send it, with the documents listed above, by email only to the Internship Programme Coordinator at internship@hkiac.org.

Applications are reviewed on a pool basis. The closing date for each term is three months before the term's commencement, and HKIAC encourages applicants to apply at least 4 months before the start of the term. On that rule, the Term 1 (January 2027) window has already closed; the deadline shown on this post is for Term 2 (March and April 2027), which begins on Monday 1 March 2027, so applications close on 1 December 2026. Later terms close three months before each term starts.

Candidates who have not been contacted for an interview six weeks before the term start should assume that their application has been unsuccessful.