Sidley Austin hires litigation and regulatory specialist

Alan Linning, formerly with J.P. Morgan Chase and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, has joined Sidley Austin as a partner in its commercial litigation and regulatory practice in Hong Kong. He started the new job on July 1.

According to a press release issued by the international law firm, Linning has more than 25 years of experience within litigation and contentious regulatory matters, of which he has spent more than 20 in Hong Kong. He joins Sidley Austin from J.P. Morgan Chase where he was a managing director and head of Asia regulatory compliance. In this position he managed a team that covered 14 countries in the region; advised on regulatory and compliance matters and compliance reform; managed the core compliance functions of anti money laundering, disclosure of interests, and code of conduct among other things. He also advised on reputation risk issues.

Before joining J.P. Morgan in 2006, he served for more than four years at Hong Kong's securities regulator, the SFC, where he was a director of enforcement and a member of the board of directors. This made him responsible for all aspects of policy and the enforcement of the SFC's statutory powers under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. He was also involved in the formulation and implementation of strategy, and in all major policy initiatives in Hong Kong's financial markets.

In his new role at Sidley Austin, Linning will advise clients on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious matters and compliance issues, and regulatory policies and developments. He will also provide preventative advice in response to new laws, regulations, guidelines, codes, and disciplinary or judicial decisions as the recent economic conditions lead to increased regulation of the financial markets and financial institutions.

Sidley's new hire will also assist the firm's clients "in responding to formal and informal regulatory inquiries and investigations, and represent them and or their employees in regulatory action, if necessary", Sidley Austin's China region managing partner, Bill Fifield, noted in a written comment. "Linning will also advise corporations, creditors and liquidators on a range of insolvency-related issues as well as on general commercial litigation matters."

Added Tom Albrecht, a member of the firm's management committee: "Throughout Asia, our clients are coping with a more complex regulatory environment and the current economic conditions have also triggered an increased amount of litigation and other enforcement actions. [Linning] has a wealth of experience and a terrific reputation in all of these substantive areas, and he will be an important resource for our corporate finance, investment funds and restructuring practices."

Linning is qualified to practice in Hong Kong law and is also admitted in Australia and Scotland. Before he joined the SFC he was co-head of the disputes resolution practice in the Hong Kong office of a well-known international law firm.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1,800 lawyers practicing in 16 US and international cities. In this region, it has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.