To create its new white-collar criminal defense unit, Pullman & Comley turned to a reliable source — the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Officially joining Pullman on June 18, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex V. Hernandez is hardly alone in traveling the well-beaten path into private practice. The 77-lawyer firm plans to build a four-attorney practice group around him, it announced last week. Hernandez, 46, has been a federal prosecutor in Bridgeport, Conn., for 16 years.