Artur Davis, a former federal prosecutor and outgoing Democratic congressman from Alabama, is returning to the practice of law and joining the Washington office of SNR Denton.
Davis will be a partner in its white collar defense and investigations practice, specializing in criminal and civil fraud matters. In a news release, the firm cites three areas he might work in: securities and financial crimes, public corruption and Foreign and Corrupt Practice Act cases.
Davis has served in Congress for eight years, and last year he lost a high-profile bid for his party’s nomination for Alabama governor. Before coming to Washington, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in Alabama and he worked in private practice there.
“It was always my intent when I left the political world to return to the practice of law, not to lobbying, not to academia,” Davis said in an interview today. “The hard-core practice of law is what I wanted to do, day in and day out.”
He added that he decided to stay in Washington because the kind of law he wants to practice — much of it related to federal agencies — “frankly I couldn’t find in Alabama.”
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Davis was among the Democrats who pressed the U.S. Justice Department to explain the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in President George W. Bush’s second term. In the new Congress that convenes this week, Republicans will have a majority on the committee.
SNR Denton was formed in September from the merger of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and United Kingdom-based Denton Wilde Sapte. Davis said he was attracted to the firm because of its growth, describing it as “dynamic” and “entrepreneurial.” “SNR jumped off the page to me,” he said.
Updated at 5:06 p.m. with comments from Davis.
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