Albrecht will be working closely with two other members of Sidley’s executive committee presently in the region – Tomoo Nishikawa, the managing partner of the Tokyo office, and Constance Choy, a corporate finance partner in the Hong Kong office.
William O. Fifield, who has served as Sidley’s managing partner for the Greater China region since 2005, will continue in that capacity until the end of 2010, when he will return to the United States.
Thomas A. Cole, chair of Sidley’s executive committee, said the appointment of Albrecht “underscores our long-standing commitment to the region.”
Albrecht, a finance lawyer at Sidley for more than 30 years, has helped in the expansion of the firm’s non-U.S. offices for the past 15 years, according to Charles W. Douglas, chair of Sidley’s management committee.
“We are tapping that experience for the further development of our operations in the Asia Pacific region, recognizing the increasing importance to our clients of that fast growing part of the world,” Douglas said.
Sidley has six offices and nearly 120 professionals in the Asia Pacific region. Albrecht said increased client demand has led the firm to begin planning for more offices.