The New York Department of Financial Services has brought in longtime Debevoise & Plimpton partner My Chi To to lead the agency's Insurance Division, which regulates more than $4.7 trillion in assets from hundreds of insurance companies.

To has been with Debevoise & Plimpton for more than two decades and is currently a member of the firm's restructuring group and industry-leading global insurance practice.

Now, she'll lead New York's regulatory practice over insurance companies, many of which she became familiar with during her time at Debevoise & Plimpton. To said she's planning to hit the ground running at the agency with a goal of protecting consumers at the forefront.

"My interest would be to focus on any area where we see where there is risk to the consumer. Ultimately that is really the guiding principle," To said. "I think a number of first priorities are dealing with any sectors where there is financial distress."

"Beyond that, I think it's really looking at all lines, all sectors with a fresh eye to try to understand and identify areas of risk before there's a problem," To continued.

To is the latest senior appointment by DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell among several others since she took the helm of the agency in July. Lacewell said To was chosen because of her deep knowledge of the insurance industry and her experience as an attorney.

"I am confident that My Chi will successfully lead the insurance division forward in this increasingly complex and changing global marketplace," Lacewell said. "Her superb intellect, deep expertise, and integrity are the perfect combination to maintain DFS at the forefront of insurance regulation."

To said she was inspired to move into the public sector based partly on efforts by Lacewell and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to include more women in senior positions related to the financial services industry.

Lacewell has chosen a number of women for top positions at DFS in the past year, and Cuomo recently created a Committee for the Advancement of Women in Leadership in Financial Services. To was named to join that panel.

"That's something I've really invested a lot of time in over the years," To said. "Being part of a diverse leadership team, I thought, was very exciting."

To first started as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton more than two decades ago, but has since become a mentor to young lawyers in the legal profession, said Michael Blair, a partner at the firm.

She's also become a "tireless advocate for women" in the legal community, Blair said. While at the firm, To became editor-in-chief of the Debevoise Women's Review.

"While we will greatly miss her insight, dedication and collegiality, we congratulate My Chi for furthering our longstanding tradition of public service and wish her the best in this next phase of her career," Blair said.

Before joining Debevoise, To clerked for Judge Claire L'Heureux-Dubé of the Supreme Court of Canada, the country's highest court. She's a graduate of the University of Ottawa and the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

To said explaining what brought her from Canada to New York City would require a longer conversation, but that she immediately felt at home in the Empire State. To is half Vietnamese and said she valued the diversity of New York when she first moved here.

"I immediately felt at home," To said. "It's such a diverse place, with room for a lot of different people to contribute."

Her other love, as she grew at Debevoise, was corporate law, she said. It wasn't something she was familiar with before she joined the firm, but it quickly became her focus. That's what made her decide to stay in New York, To said.

"I loved it. I really didn't know what corporate law was before I arrived, but I really fell in love with it when I got here," To said. "That's what kept me here."

To's transition to DFS has already started, she said, but she expects to be at the agency full-time at the beginning of next year.

READ MORE: