Rizwan Qureshi is embarking on his third tour at Reed Smith, this time as a partner in Washington, D.C.

Qureshi was an associate at the firm from 2008 to 2012 before leaving for a clerkship at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He returned to Reed Smith in 2014 as an associate before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where he was an assistant U.S. attorney until last month.

Rizwan Qureshi, Reed Smith

“When I left, I never thought I'd return,” Qureshi said of his last stint at Reed Smith. “It was never a negative thing; when I walked out the door, it was, 'Rizzy, when are you coming back?'”

Qureshi declined to say which other firms and companies he considered joining, but said his prosecutorial experience meant he had several opportunities in private practice and in-house. As a member of Reed Smith's global regulatory enforcement group and a former cybercrime prosecutor, he will work with individuals and corporations who are the subject of governmental investigations. He will also handle government-facing litigation and advise clients facing cyber intrusions.

Qureshi declined to identify any clients.

“We are pleased to welcome Rizzy back to the firm and look forward to leveraging his significant trial and investigations experience in the government to benefit a range of our clients,” said Michael Lowell, co-leader of Reed Smith's global regulatory enforcement practice, in a statement. “Our government investigations team recently has been exceptionally busy with a number of high-profile matters.”

Qureshi said the open and frank conversations he had with firm management about Reed Smith's commitment to promoting and retaining diverse talent also factored into his decision to return.

“It's good to be back home,” he said.