Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who leaves office this week, has joined the staff of Mercury Public Affairs, a national political consulting and public affairs firm with offices.

Nunez, 42, is a Democrat who has represented the Downtown L.A. area in the state Assembly for the past six years and was elected Speaker in 2004. Because of term limits, Nunez gave up his post earlier this year to fellow Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass.

At Mercury, Nunez will split his time between the firm’s Sacramento office and an office in downtown Los Angeles that he will help open. Under state law, Nunez is not allowed to directly lobby Sacramento lawmakers for at least one year.

Mercury Public Affairs, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., has offices in New York, Washington D.C. and Sacramento.