Former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Annette Nazareth has joined the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.

As previously reported by Compliance Week, Nazareth announced in October 2007 her intention to retire from the SEC to return to the private sector.

In her new role, Nazareth will practice in the firm’s Financial Institutions Group, advising clients across a broad range of complex regulatory matters and transactions. She also will work closely with Davis Polk’s SEC enforcement practice, counseling non-financial sector corporations that are subject to government regulatory and enforcement actions.