Kirkland & Ellis has hired Richard Sharpe as a partner in the firm’s government and internal investigations group in Hong Kong from Clifford Chance, where he was a consultant.

Sharpe focuses on assisting multinational clients with a variety of white collar and international risk matters, including anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering, international sanctions, cyber-crime, and other cross-border investigations.

“Richard has built a reputation as one of the rising stars in international risk investigations and compliance matters in Asia, with valuable related litigation and arbitration experience,” said Cori Lable, a senior partner in Kirkland’s Asia government and internal investigations group, in a statement. “We are delighted to have him join the Hong Kong office as Kirkland continues to expand our Government and Internal Investigations practice in the region.”

With the addition of Sharpe, Kirkland’s Hong Kong office now has three partners in the government and internal investigations group. Clifford Chance now also has three partners focusing on regulatory enforcement and white collar crime in Hong Kong.