Two former high-ranking officials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are moving into private practice, bringing with them a deep breadth of financial regulatory knowledge.

Carolyn Welshhans, a 17-year veteran of the SEC who most recently served as associate director of the Division of Enforcement, has landed at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Welshhans, who began her new role on Monday, will be a partner at the firm's Washington D.C. office and will focus on SEC enforcement, investigations and litigation. The hiring adds to Morgan Lewis's roster of former government officials who have found fresh homes in private practice.

Gurbir S. Grewal, the SEC enforcement chief who also previously served as New Jersey attorney general, will be heading over to Milbank, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source said Grewal is expected to be a partner in the firm's white-collar defense and SEC enforcement practice. It was not immediately clear when he would be begin his new role, but the source said Grewal may join Milbank either later this year or early next.

The SEC announced Grewal's pending Oct. 11 departure in a news release last Wednesday. While at the SEC, Grewal prioritized "restoring investor trust and confidence in the financial markets" by stressing proactive enforcement initiatives and focusing on creating a culture of compliance, the SEC said in the release.

Grewal served as New Jersey attorney general from 2018 to 2021, and before that was the top prosecutor in Bergen County, which is New Jersey's most populous.

Welshhans, meanwhile, comes to Morgan Lewis after serving in various leadership roles with the SEC, including acting chief of its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. She also served as assistant director in the Enforcement Division's Cyber and Market Abuse units.

"Carolyn's deep familiarity with the SEC and its enforcement priorities combined with her work on high-profile matters will greatly enhance our SEC enforcement capabilities," Troy Brown, the leader of Morgan Lewis's global litigation practice, said in a statement.

Welshhans lauded her former team at the SEC and said she is proud of her tenure in the government position, but also expressed excitement at returning to private practice.

"I always thought I'd go back to private practice, and this just felt like the right time to me," Welshhans said in an interview Monday. "Morgan Lewis just provides an incredible opportunity to work with pracitioners at the top of their game who are also just outstanding people."

Her new position with Morgan Lewis, she said, will provide her an opportunity to advise clients on how to comply with federal securities laws and how to navigate SEC investigations and inquiries by financial regulators and "prepare for litigation, if necessary."

Welshhans said her time at the SEC afforded her the opportunity to develop a broad base of knowledge that will carry over into her new role. She envisions her client base being made up of public companies, startups, financial firms and fin-tech companies.

While vetting prospective employers, Welshhans said she was impressed by Morgan Lewis's zeal for advocating for clients and she was attracted to the firm's providing full service to its clients across all stages of business.

"I think that is just an incredible synergy for a practice like securities enforcement and litigation," she said. "I chose very carefully and thought very much about the culture of the firm, the way that it practices and just the top-notch, global approach that they have to their clients."

Welshhans joins other former SEC officials at Morgan Lewis, including Kelly Gibson, former acting deputy director of enforcement; Fred Block, former supervisory trial counsel in the Enforcement Division; Christine Ayako Schleppegrell, former branch chief at the Division of Investment Management; and Erin Martin, former legal branch chief in the Division of Corporation Finance.

Grewal, meanwhile, will be joining a New York elite firm that saw a 17.8% revenue jump in 2023, along with a record year of profits per equity partner, increasing 18.6% to $5.114 million, The American Lawyer previously reported. During Grewal's tenure at the SEC, the Enforcement Division recommended more than 2,400 enforcement matters that resulted in more than $20 billion in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. It also secured more than $1 billion in awards to whistleblowers and the return of billions of dollars to harmed investors.