Legal Trainee (Solicitor/Barrister) (2028 Intake) (early trawl candidates)

Legal Trainees will undergo practical training under professional guidance designed to satisfy the training requirements of the Law Society of Hong Kong or the Hong Kong Bar Association. The training period is two years for Legal Trainees (Solicitor) and one year for Legal Trainees (Barrister).

$61,865 per month

(a) permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;
(b) penultimate year students of undergraduate law programme in post-secondary institutions who will have obtained Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) in 2028; and
(c) have attained ‘Level 2’ or above in English Language and Chinese Language (Notes 1 & 2) in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE) or the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), or equivalent.

(1) For appointment purpose, ‘Grade E’ in English Language (Syllabus B) and Chinese Language in the HKCEE before 2007 is accepted administratively as comparable to ‘Level 2’ in English Language and Chinese Language in the 2007 HKCEE and henceforth.
(2) ‘Level 1’ result or above in the Use of Chinese paper of the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) will also be accepted as meeting the Chinese language proficiency requirement for appointment as Legal Trainee.

To fill Legal Trainee vacancies under the Legal Trainee Scheme (LTS) from 1 August 2028. Legal Trainees are not civil servants and do not occupy any posts on the establishment. They are not appointed on civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service. Legal Trainees will receive, in the first 12 months, a monthly salary equivalent to the pay on point 27 of the Master Pay Scale (MPS), and in the second 12 months, a monthly salary equivalent to the pay on point 28 of the MPS. The pay equivalent to point 27 of the MPS is $61,865, and the pay equivalent to point 28 of the MPS is $64,780 currently. Legal Trainees are subject to the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485).

(a) Candidates must be permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the time of appointment unless specified otherwise.
(b) As an Equal Opportunities Employer, the Government is committed to eliminating discrimination in employment. The vacancy advertised is open to all applicants meeting the basic entry requirement irrespective of their disability, sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, family status, sexual orientation and race.
(c) Non-civil service vacancies are not posts on the civil service establishment. Candidates appointed are not on civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service. Candidates appointed are not civil servants and will not be eligible for posting, promotion or transfer to any posts in the Civil Service.
(d) The entry pay, terms of appointment and conditions of service to be offered are subject to the provisions prevailing at the time the offer of appointment is made.
(e) Where a large number of candidates meet the specified entry requirements, the recruiting department may devise shortlisting criteria to select the better qualified candidates for further processing. In these circumstances, only shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend recruitment examination and/or interview.
(f) It is Government policy to place people with a disability in appropriate jobs wherever possible. If a disabled candidate meets the entry requirements, he/she will be invited to attend the selection interview/written examination without being subject to any further shortlisting criteria.
(g) Holders of academic qualifications other than those obtained from Hong Kong institutions/Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority may also apply but their qualifications will be subject to assessments on equivalence with the required entry qualifications.

Candidates must apply online through the G.F. 340 Online Application System of the Civil Service Bureau (https://www.csb.gov.hk) on or before 6:00 p.m., 31 March 2026. Applications which are incomplete, late, submitted in person, by post, by fax, by e-mail or other means will NOT be accepted. Candidates should click on the specific hyperlink of the Job Title they apply for, i.e. Legal Trainee (Solicitor) (2028 Intake) (early trawl candidates)] or Legal Trainee (Barrister) (2028 Intake) (early trawl candidates)] to apply. Candidates who have no specific preference may click on Legal Trainee (Solicitor/Barrister) (2028 Intake) (early trawl candidates), the Selection Board may assign the stream they find most suitable for these candidates in accordance with their performance at the selection interview.
After the submission of online application, the applicants should submit copies of the following relevant documents:
(a) academic and valid language qualifications with full details of examination results at the –
(i) HKDSEE/HKCEE; and
(ii) latest academic transcript;
(iii) CRE (if applicable); and
(b) supplementary letters detailing personal interests and other relevant information (if any)
to the Department of Justice through email (training@doj.gov.hk) on or before 8 April 2026. Job Title being applied for and the online application number should be quoted in the email subject, as well as on every page of the photocopies of the documents listed above.
Where possible, an academic reference written by a staff member of the Faculty/School of Law should be provided and sent direct by the staff to the aforesaid email address on or before 30 April 2026.
Candidates who are selected for interview will normally receive an invitation in June 2026. Those who are not invited for interview may assume that their applications are unsuccessful.

Please contact Executive Officer (Personnel)4 or Clerical Officer (Training)

3703 6535 or 3703 6563