FDIC’s Bair joins DLA Piper

Sheila Bair, former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chairwoman, joined DLA Piper, the firm announced on Wednesday.

She joins other high-profile former regulators that have landed at the law and lobby firm and will serve as a senior policy advisor based in its Washington office.

“Sheila’s experience in the public and private sectors related to banking and financial regulation is unmatched,” said Jeffrey Hare, the chair of DLA Piper’s financial services regulatory practice, in a statement. “Her insight into the pressing regulatory issues will be a tremendous asset to the firm.”

{mosads}Bair served at the FDIC immediately before and after the financial meltdown – from 2006 to 2011 – and still works with organizations on financial services issues.

At DLA Piper, she will focus her efforts on the firm’s international practice, according to the firm, but will also be active in its pro bono work. Bair will also “provide strategic advice to the firm regarding developments in financial markets and their regulation” – at a time when financial institutions in the United States and around the world are implementing sweeping regulatory changes.

 “Sheila will be an outstanding resource for international clients, particularly those in the public sector, seeking her guidance on regulatory issues as well as deposit insurance and resolution regimes for troubled banks,” said Thomas Boyd, co-chair of the firm’s government affairs practice, in a statement.

She began her Washington career as an aide to former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.). She also served as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the senior vice president for government relations of the New York Stock Exchange and as the assistant secretary for financial markets at the Treasury Department. 

Earlier this year, a couple other former regulators joined DLA Piper: former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and former CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton.