Davis Polk builds its government connections

Where do financial regulators wind up when they leave their government jobs? A good number go to Davis Polk & Wardwell.

The law firm announced last week that it had hired John Douglas, who was FDIC general counsel during the savings-and-loan crisis. More recently, Douglas had headed the financial institutions practice at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

He worked closely with Davis Polk partner Randall Guynn in advising Treasury and the Federal Reserve on changes to the financial regulatory system.

Davis Polk has been at the center of many of the high-profile cases that have arisen during the current crisis. It represented Morgan Stanley in its conversion to a bank holding company; Citigroup in its merger transactions; and Freddie Mac in the government receivership.

Other recent hires by the firm include:

• Annette Nazareth, former SEC commissioner
• Linda Chatman Thomsen, former SEC enforcement director
• Robert Colby, former acting head of the SEC’s Division of Market Regulation

Paul Ranes, secretary to the president during the George W. Bush administration, is also a partner.

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