Sidley Adds Senior Regulatory and Enforcement Partner James Comber in Hong Kong

Hong Kong – Sidley is pleased to announce that James Comber has joined the Firm’s Regulatory and Enforcement group as a partner in Hong Kong. He joins from Ashurst LLP in Hong Kong, where he was the most senior partner of the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice.

Mr. Comber has more than 20 years of experience on complex regulatory, financial, and commercial disputes, with a particular emphasis on contentious regulatory matters and financial services investigations. He has substantial experience representing major financial institutions, asset managers, brokerages and other market participants in investigations and enforcement matters conducted by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police.

Mr. Comber has been consistently recognized in Chambers Asia Pacific and Legal 500 as a leading practitioner in dispute resolution and financial services contentious regulatory matters.

“James is one of the most highly regarded contentious regulatory and enforcement practitioners in Hong Kong, with substantial experience advising financial institutions, asset managers, and brokerages in complex investigations and enforcement matters before the SFC, HKMA and other regulators,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Chair of Sidley’s Management Committee and member of its Executive Committee. “With James on the ground in Hong Kong, we are well-positioned to provide clients with seamless, cross-border support on their complex investigations and enforcement matters, connecting our Asia capabilities directly to our U.S. and global platform.”

The firm has been growing its Securities, Regulatory, and Enforcement practice through lateral partner hires and internal partner promotions including Peter Malyshev, Barb Stettner, Erin N. Kauffman, and Michael F. Proctor in Washington, D.C., as well as Ian McGinley in New York.

“Regulatory scrutiny of financial markets is intensifying across Asia, and clients increasingly face investigations that span Hong Kong, the U.S., and beyond. James' arrival further strengthens our ability to conduct US-style cross-border investigations and enforcement proceedings in Asia, building on the strong local presence we have established across Hong Kong and Singapore,” said Constance Choy, a member of Sidley’s Management Committee and managing partner of the firm’s Asia-Pacific region. “His arrival demonstrates our continued investment in Asia and the clients we serve across the region.”

Mr. Comber’s arrival builds on Sidley’s continued growth in Asia, following the addition earlier this year of senior partners Simon Barrett and Olivia Matsushita to the firm’s Energy, Transportation, and Infrastructure practice in Tokyo.

Sidley’s Securities Enforcement and Regulatory group counsels and defends clients involved in all aspects of the global capital markets, from major Wall Street firms and leading public companies to prominent investment advisers and senior executives. The group defends clients in investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Department of Justice, state attorneys general, UK Financial Conduct Authority, SFC, HKMA, and self-regulatory agencies such as FINRA and NYSE.

Sidley is one of the few international law firms to have maintained on-the-ground capabilities to serve clients in Asia Pacific for over 40 years. The firm now has close to 130 legal professionals based in five offices in the region – Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Sidley is an elite global law firm. With approximately 2,300 lawyers and 160 years of experience, we have established a reputation for deploying innovative legal strategies to achieve powerful results for our clients in complex transactional, restructuring, crisis management, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters.

Our perspective and reach are truly global, supported by 21 offices strategically situated in key commercial, regulatory, and financial centers across the world. Our lawyers and business professionals, fluent in more than 75 languages, possess the cultural awareness and cross-border legal acumen needed to bring clarity to a dynamic business landscape.

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