Evan Bayh to K Street

Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) has popped up as a partner in the Washington office of the law firm McGuireWoods.

According to a Monday release, Bayh will advise prominent clients whose business goals are affected by public policy and work with the firm’s public affairs subsidiary. 

“I’ve always been impressed by the top-notch professionalism, excellent character and collegial atmosphere here,” said Bayh, a former governor who opted not to seek a third Senate term last year. “The firm’s national and increasingly global presence gives me a broad platform to develop a challenging practice serving a wide variety of clients at the highest level.”

Bayh, who crafted a reputation as a centrist during his political career, is already a senior adviser at Apollo Global Management in New York and plans to continue being a presence on the speaking circuit. 

As he announced his Senate retirement last year, Bayh bemoaned what he called the gridlock and intense partisanship on Capitol Hill. Richard Cullen, McGuireWoods’s chairman, said in the firm’s release that the former senator will be able to advise clients “how to get things done in an environment rife with partisan perils.”

A one-time member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Bayh told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that he believes progress can be made on energy and climate issues this year.