Sidley Austin has hired James Comber, the former head of Hong Kong dispute resolution practice at Ashurst, as a partner at its Hong Kong office, strengthening the firm’s disputes practice.
Comber has more than 20 years of experience. Before joining Sidley, he spent nearly 13 years at Ashurst and was promoted to partner in 2016, based in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he worked for three years as a consultant at the Hong Kong office of Allen & Overy.
Earlier in his career, he worked at New Zealand Inland Revenue and the New Zealand law firm Russell McVeagh, where he held roles as a solicitor in the litigation management team and later as a senior solicitor, respectively.
Comber focuses on complex regulatory, financial and commercial disputes, with expertise in contentious regulatory matters. He has represented major financial institutions, asset managers and brokerages in investigations conducted by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police.
He also has extensive experience in high-value commercial disputes, acting in litigation before the Hong Kong courts and in arbitral proceedings across Asia. His work spans a wide range of industries, including financial services mis-selling and derivatives disputes, shareholder and joint venture disputes, complex contractual claims and tax disputes.

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