Peter McKay joining Toronto office of Baker & McKenzie.

Peter MacKay, a high ranking cabinet member in the previous Conservative government, is joining the Toronto office of global law firm of Baker & McKenzie as a partner.

Baker & McKenzie is expected to announce Monday morning that MacKay will join the firm as a partner on Feb. 1.

MacKay served as attorney general, minister of justice, minister of national defence and minister of foreign affairs in the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper.

MacKay is a lawyer by training and, prior to entering politics, he worked as a crown prosecutor in Nova Scotia. With his return to legal practice, MacKay is expected to specialize in providing companies with advice on a range of government and regulatory matters. He is also expected to provide strategic advice to Canadian companies with operations abroad and international companies that do business in Canada.

“Companies here at home and abroad need strategic advice on how to navigate and prosper in an environment of increasing global risk and regulatory enforcement activity,” MacKay says, according to a news release received in advance of the formal announcement.

MacKay served in the House of Commons for 20 years and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada before it merged with Harper’s Canadian Alliance in December 2003.

“I have been honoured to serve the Canadian people for many years in the House of Commons and Government of Canada, and the time is right for me to transition to the private sector and begin the next phase of my career,” MacKay says in the release.

Baker & McKenzie, which has roots in Chicago, has had an office in Toronto for more than 50 years. It is one of the largest law firms in the world, with more than 4,300 lawyers working out of 77 offices in 47 countries, and annual revenue of more than US$2.4 billion.

“Our global clients face a patchwork of regulatory rules and compliance challenges as they grow their business i n Canada and across borders,” says Kevin Coon, the managing partner of Baker & McKenzie’s Toronto office, in the release. “I can’t think of anyone who is better placed than Peter MacKay to assist our clients on the legal, business and compliance challenges of today’s marketplace.”

CAN’T THINK OF ANYONE BETTER PLACED THAN PETER MACKAY.