Careers | Duan & Duan UK LLP

Duan & Duan UK LLP is a specialist bilingual firm at Middle Temple, London — part of the Duan & Duan international network spanning 40+ offices worldwide. Our client base sits at the intersection of the UK and Greater China, and so does our team. We are always interested in hearing from exceptional solicitors, barristers, and law students who see this intersection as the place they want to build a career.

There are four routes into the firm. Pick whichever describes you.

Route 1

Current Vacancies

We are presently recruiting for the position below. Applications are considered on a rolling basis — there is no fixed deadline.

Vacancy — Open

Marketing Assistant — Content & Cross-Border Reach

About the role

We are looking for a Marketing Assistant to help us build out the firm's content and social-media presence across both the English-speaking and Chinese-speaking sides of our audience. The role is hands-on: planning and producing written and video content, shooting and editing short-form video, cutting and translating subtitles, and forming a view on which platforms are actually worth the firm's time. The aim is straightforward — more of the right people, in both the UK and Greater China, encountering our partners' commentary and expertise online.

You will

Plan, produce and publish written and video content for the firm's website, LinkedIn, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, WeChat, X, and any other platform the firm decides is worth investing in.
Shoot and edit short-form video — partner interviews, case-study explainers, day-in-the-life pieces, conference reports — in formats appropriate to each platform.
Cut and translate subtitles between English and Chinese (Simplified and, where relevant, Traditional), so each piece can run on both sides of the language divide.
Take a view on which platforms are actually moving the needle for the firm and reallocate effort accordingly. Bilibili and Xiaohongshu in particular merit serious experimentation.
Coordinate publication across the firm's website, the insights and news section, and outbound channels — making sure each new partner-bylined piece lands in front of the right audience on the right cadence.
Work directly with the partners on tone, framing and editorial direction.

We are looking for

Strong written English. Mandarin fluency (spoken and written) is essential; Cantonese is a plus.
Hands-on content production experience — shooting, editing, captioning, posting — whether in a previous in-house communications role, a marketing role, or as the principal voice behind a personal or professional account with demonstrable reach.
Familiarity with the Chinese social-platform stack: Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, WeChat, Douyin. UK-side platforms (LinkedIn, X, Instagram) are also part of the mix.
A genuine interest in legal practice. You do not need a law degree, but you do need to be comfortable working with technical legal content and translating it into accessible formats for a general audience.
Organised, self-directed, with the judgement to know when to ship a piece quickly and when to take an extra day to get it right.

What we offer

A real seat at the table. This is not a reactive role. You will be deciding alongside the partners which platforms, content formats and audiences the firm invests in over the next twelve to twenty-four months.
Direct working relationship with the partners — no layer of management in between.
The full back-end of an established cross-border law firm — case material, partner expertise, international network — to draw on for content.
Central London office at Middle Temple, inside the Inns of Court.
Skilled Worker sponsorship is available for the right candidate who requires a work permit to work in the UK.

To apply: send your CV and a short covering letter to [email protected]. If you have a portfolio, showreel, Bilibili / Xiaohongshu / LinkedIn handle, or any other example of work you have personally produced and posted, please include the links. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Route 2

Consultant Solicitors

We welcome applications from solicitors qualified in England and Wales who want to build a practice inside a collaborative, bilingual firm, with genuine flexibility over how and when they work.

Our consultant solicitor arrangement is built for senior lawyers who want:

To pick the hours and days that fit their life, without a billable-hours target dictating the week.
Real specialist work: the kind of cross-border and bilingual matters a generalist firm is not set up to handle.
To talk to the partners directly, not through a layer of management. Small team, flat structure, case strategy discussed face to face.
The full regulatory and administrative scaffolding of a SRA-regulated firm: indemnity cover, compliance, billing, IT, and an office at Middle Temple. You focus on the law; we handle the rest.

We are particularly interested in hearing from solicitors whose practice has a cross-border UK–China, Hong Kong, Singapore, or wider Asia-Pacific dimension, whether by subject matter or by language.

Route 3

Solicitors and In-House Barristers

We are always on the lookout for stand-out solicitors and barristers who would like to work within a firm rather than at chambers or at a larger practice. Speculative applications are welcome at any level — from newly-qualified solicitors through to senior counsel considering a move from the Bar or from a larger firm.

Route 4

Internships & Work Experience

We invite applications for internships and work experience from law students and trainees throughout the year. We believe in empowering the next generation of legal professionals and offer a genuine step up: exposure to live cross-border matters, mentoring from our partners and senior solicitors, and a close look at what modern bilingual legal practice feels like in a specialist firm.

A qualifying legal background is usually a minimum requirement — an LLB, GDL / PGDL, SQE-1 pass, or an equivalent international legal qualification in progress. We consider applications on academic record, commercial awareness, and, for bilingual roles, language proficiency.

How to Apply

Send your CV and a short covering letter to [email protected]. Please make clear which of the four routes above you are applying under.

If you are applying as a consultant solicitor, please include a short outline of your current practice and, where relevant, the portable work or client base you would bring with you.
If you are applying as a solicitor or in-house barrister, please indicate your current stage (for example NQ, 5 PQE, 15 PQE; junior or senior counsel) and your practice area.
If you are applying for an internship, please note your current year of study, your course, and your earliest availability.

We read every application. We regret that, given volume, we cannot always respond to every enquiry individually, but we keep CVs on file for 12 months and will be in touch when an appropriate opportunity arises.

Careers at Duan & Duan UK