The former legal director of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. has joined Gowling WLG Canada as a partner in its Ottawa office.

Kim Walker moves from her in-house role at the CDIC, a Crown agency that insures deposits at major Canadian financial institutions, to the business law group at Gowling WLG’s 200-plus lawyer office in Canada’s capital city.

The firm said her extensive experience in finance and regulatory matters will help clients manage high-stakes lending transactions, regulatory compliance and financial restructuring. Her practice will focus on commercial lending, finance, and regulatory law with an emphasis on Crown corporations.

Walker “has a deep understanding of commercial lending and secured financing transactions as well as Canada’s financial system and complex regulatory framework,” Cyndy Elderkin, the Ottawa office managing partner, said in a statement.

During almost six years at the CDIC, the firm said Walker played a pivotal role in advising the executive team and board on critical legal, compliance and operational matters. She led the CDIC’s compliance management team and collaborated with key government partners to shape national financial services frameworks.

Prior to joining the CDIC, Walker spent eight years in-house at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. She also previously worked as a patent clerk at Gowling, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Elderkin said Walker’s experience working with CDIC and CMHC, coupled with her holistic approach to the challenges financial institutions and Crown corporations face across the country align with the firm’s commitments to its clients.

Earlier this year, Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office also landed Julie Lane, the former chief legal officer of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, one of the biggest booze buyers in the world, who also has extensive regulatory experience.