Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has appointed a new co-head of its Asia-Pacific practice.

Tokyo partner Audrey Sokoloff has been named as joint head of the group alongside Alan Schiffman, with effect from today (16 March).

In addition to her regional management role Sokoloff will continue to lead the Tokyo office and the Asia-Pacific real estate and investment finance teams.

Skadden's Asia-Pacific practice was previously led by US corporate partners Michael Gisser and Phyllis Korff in addition to Schiffman, but the firm has decided to manage the practice from Asia rather than the US.

Sokoloff told Legal Week: "The development of the practice in Asia means that it makes sense to base the leadership here."

Schiffman, who has been a co-head of the firm's Asia-Pacific region since 2004 and also leads the firm's Asian energy and infrastructure projects practice, said: "We have recently added five partners in the region and expanded our capabilities. We are well placed as markets recover and our clients seek to capitalise on opportunities or expand their operations and investments."

Skadden has operated in the Asia-Pacific region for more than 20 years and has 100 lawyers working across six offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.