Clifford Chance (CC) has hired former Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) director Jimmy Chan as a partner in its local litigation and disputes resolution practice.

Chan, who will join the magic circle firm's Hong Kong office in October, was until 2017 a director in the SFC's enforcement division, where he led the international and policy team and collaborated on cross-border enforcement actions with other regulators such as the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

He first joined the SFC in 2003 as a disciplinary lawyer and became a director in 2011.

Earlier in his SFC career, Chan was involved in disciplinary matters related to a crisis at Lehman Brothers that saw investors lose some $2.5bn after purchasing a set of highly risky derivatives known as 'minibonds'. Retail investors took to the street after the New York-based financial services giant collapsed in 2008, ultimately prompting the SFC to pressure minibond distributors to compensate the investors.

Chan left the securities watchdog in July 2017 and has since studied for an LL.M. at Harvard Law School. Before joining the SFC in 2004, he was a litigator at now-defunct Coudert Brothers.

Donna Wacker, head of the contentious regulatory practice at CC, said in a statement that clients are facing continued regulatory pressure, enforcement activity and cross-border cooperation between regulators in the Asia-Pacific region.

"There's an ongoing focus on listed company compliance and corporate governance, and therefore considerable demand for sophisticated contentious regulatory advice and investigations expertise," Wacker said.

CC's Singapore-based Asia head of litigation and dispute resolution Nish Shetty said Chan's experience working with financial regulators in China, Hong Kong and the US complements the firm's current global offering.

Shetty, an international arbitration specialist, took over as regional practice head two years ago from then Hong Kong-based litigation and regulatory enforcement partner Matthew Newick. Experienced in dealing with the SFC, Newick relocated back to London last year and now leads CC's global dispute resolution practice.

The magic circle firm first moved Newick, then head of banking litigation at CC, to Hong Kong in 2013 immediately after former Asia disputes head and SFC specialist Martin Rogers was hired to launch a Hong Kong litigation team for Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Late in 2017, former Beijing partner and China financial regulatory head Yang Tiecheng left CC for China's Han Kun Law Offices.

In April, Slaughter and May also hired a former SFC enforcement director, Wynne Mok, as a partner. He was the firm's third-ever external partner hire globally. A year ago this month, Mayer Brown JSM hired Alan Linning, a former SFC executive director for enforcement, as a partner in Hong Kong.

CC has about 100 litigation and dispute resolution lawyers across the Asia-Pacific region.

Additional reporting by Anna Zhang in Hong Kong.