Story highlights Edwards is opening a practice in Raleigh with the same partner he started with in 1993

It's his first step back into the public eye since his acquittal on campaign finance charges

Report: He also does not think that his affair and his wife's death will influence juries against him

He has no more political ambitions, he and his daughter say

After two bids for the Oval Office, a sex scandal and a fraud trial, John Edwards is back where he started from.

The former senator will be practicing personal injury law in his home state of North Carolina, CNN affiliate WRAL reported Monday.

He is opening a practice in Raleigh with the same law partner he started his first firm with in 1993, David Kirby. The firm will practice under the name Edwards Kirby.

CNN reported in June that Edwards was looking to open a new law firm that would focus on plaintiff work.

The announcement is Edwards' first step back into the public eye since he was acquitted of campaign finance charges last year.

The trial dragged into the light messy details of a love affair Edwards had with a campaign employee, while the wife who supported his ambitions was dying of cancer.

It crushed his public image and may have put an end to any further political ambitions.

Photos: Politicians in hot water Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was convicted on federal corruption charges on Tuesday, June 21. The Philadelphia Democrat was tied to a host of campaign finance schemes, according to the Department of Justice. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 to a victims' fund in April after a hush-money case revealed he was being accused of sexually abusing young boys as a teacher in Illinois. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell arrives at his corruption trial in Richmond, Virginia, in September 2015. A jury convicted McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, derailing the political ambitions of the one-time rising star in the Republican Party. McDonnell, who was sentenced to two years in prison, has asked the Supreme Court to reverse his conviction. The high court heard his challenge in April. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was indicted on corruption charges in April 2015. Federal prosecutors have accused Menendez of using his Senate office to push the business interests of a friend and donor in exchange for gifts. The senator has pleaded not guilty to the charges and vehemently asserts his innocence. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister asked for forgiveness from God, his family and his constituents after a newspaper published what it said was surveillance video showing the married Louisiana Republican making out with a female staffer. His term ended in 2015. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra, arrive at federal court in Washington for sentencing in August 2013. Jackson, a Democrat from Illinois, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for improper use of campaign funds, while his wife got 12 months for filing false tax returns. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water In 2012, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of 18 criminal counts, including trying to sell the appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted in 2007 of obstructing a federal investigation into who revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000, but former President George W. Bush commuted his sentence. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2009 after being convicted of 11 counts of corruption related to using his office to solicit bribes. The Louisiana Democrat was also ordered to forfeit $470,000. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2007 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and making false statements to investigators. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Rep. James Traficant Jr., D-Ohio, spent seven years in prison after being convicted of bribery and corruption and tax evasion charges in 2002. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-California, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2006 after he was convicted of collecting $2.4 million in homes, yachts, antique furnishings and other bribes on a scale unparalleled in the history of Congress. Hide Caption 12 of 12

Edwards originally used his success as a lawyer to springboard into politics. His daughter does not think he'll try that move again.

"I would be very surprised," Cate Edwards told WRAL. She has joined the firm and said that from here on out, her father will concentrate on practicing law.

Love of law

"I loved it for the decades I did it, and I think it's what I was born to do," John Edwards told North Carolina's News & Observer website . His political career is over, he said.

He also does not think that his affair with Reille Hunter -- which resulted in a child he originally denied fathering -- would influence juries against his clients, he told the News & Observer.

"Courtrooms are not a place where, in my experience, showmanship and flamboyance wins out. Hard work and having a case that is true and meritorious wins out," he told the paper.

The former senator wants to expand from personal injury into cases of social injustice.

"We want to take on cases that, through litigation, change social inequalities in favor of the greater good," Edwards said in a statement to WRAL.

Personal injury is still on the menu, but the firm currently also has cases of bad faith insurance, price fixing and several discrimination cases, Cate Edwards said.

Square one

Two decades ago, the firm Edwards founded with Kirby was known as Edwards & Kirby, LLP. Edwards quickly became a shooting star.

In 1996, he was named lawyer of the year. Two years later, his political career began, when he won a seat in the U.S. Senate.

He ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2004 but lost to John Kerry. Kerry then picked him as his vice presidential running mate. The pair lost the electionto George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

In 2007, Edwards' wife Elizabeth, who had been battling cancer, suffered a relapse.

In 2008, Edwards ran again but dropped out, endorsing neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama for the presidency. Shortly before that, Hunter gave birth to her and Edwards' child. No father was listed on the birth certificate.

Later that year, he admitted to the affair but denied fathering their child.

In 2009, his wife wrote a memoir detailing her wish for him to end his affair and return to the marriage.

In the same year, the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into Edwards' campaign finances. He was indicted.

In 2010, former aide Andrew A. Young, in a book about Edwards' political career, alleged Edwards misappropriated campaign funds to cover Hunter's pregnancy expenses.

Days before publication, Edwards admitted to fathering Hunter's child and separated from his wife Elizabeth. She died later that year.

Edwards was later acquitted on fraud charges but was required to pay campaign funds back to the U.S. Treasury. He developed a heart condition during his trial.

In May this year, Edwards reactivated his license to practice law.