Steptoe & Johnson is bringing back a former partner from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to co-chair its financial services group, the firm announced Wednesday.

Matthew Kulkin will rejoin the firm next month after a two-year stint as director of the CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight. Previously, he was a partner at Steptoe from 2015 to 2017, and in his new role he will co-chair the firm's financial services group. He will be based in Washington, D.C., but will also work out of the firm's Chicago and New York offices.

Matthew Kulkin, Steptoe & Johnson.

In a statement, Steptoe chair Phil West praised the experience Kulkin gained while at the CFTC, where he led capital markets initiatives pertaining to futures, swaps, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology and led enforcement actions related to the swaps and futures markets. Notably, he worked on the Volcker Rule, a section of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and was involved in planning for a no-deal Brexit, the firm said.

"His strategic leadership and insights in the derivatives industry will enhance and further deepen the services we offer clients in the financial markets and fintech industries," West said.

Kulkin's practice encompasses much of the financial services sector, and he has experience dealing with legislative, regulatory, compliance, investigations and enforcement challenges created by the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as by other financial regulations.

Kulkin's rehire comes a month after Steptoe picked up another notable Washington attorney: in September, the firm added white-collar veteran Michael Bromwich, who represented now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's accuser Christine Blasey Ford before the U.S. Senate in 2018.

Kulkin was not immediately available for comment.