More than a decade after his last stint in Big Law, Charles Yi is leaving his post as general counsel for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and taking his experience in banking regulation and legislation to the D.C. offices of Arnold & Porter.

Yi will be a partner in the firm's financial services and legislative and public policy teams.

In between leaving Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in 2007 and taking up his post at the FDIC, Yi was counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, senior policy adviser on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and deputy assistant secretary for banking and finance for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

His time in government gave Yi the opportunity to work on two of the biggest pieces of financial legislation in recent history: the creation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the crafting of the Dodd-Frank financial reform regulations.

When asked about the timing of the move, Yi said it just happened “to be right.” He said he was keenly aware of Arnold & Porter's practice, and when they reached out to him recently the “personal and professional” elements lined up for a shift.

Yi had been at the FDIC for over four years. He had not spent more than two years at any of his previous positions, public sector or private. While he won't be bringing a book of ready business to his new firm, he said that his background in both the legislative and regulatory arenas positions him well to serve Arnold & Porter's current clients and to attract new ones.

A military veteran who served as a captain in the Army's Armored Cavalry, Yi spent two years as an associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz before moving to Wilmer as an associate and then into government work.

“Charles is highly regarded and respected for his deep understanding of the banking sector, including in the supervisory, policy and legislative arenas,” Richard Alexander, chair of Arnold & Porter, said in a statement. “Our clients will benefit tremendously from his significant experience and insight into the legislative and regulatory process.”

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