SALT LAKE CITY – Today, Senator Mike Lee announced that current Utah State Representative Derek Brown has accepted the position of Deputy Chief of Staff and State Director for the senator’s office.  Rep. Brown will resign his seat in the Utah Legislature effective January 2, 2014 and will assume his new role on January 3^rd.  Senator Lee’s Chief of Staff Boyd Matheson had been filling the State Director duties for the past year.

Senator Lee commented, “I am thrilled to have Derek Brown on board.  I have known him since I helped recruit him to Sidley & Austin 11 years ago and look forward to what he will contribute to our staff, our constituents and leaders within the State of Utah.  Derek is a great talent and understands the legislative process as well as critical functions of a senate office.”

In addition to his stellar legal career, Derek Brown served as legal counsel to U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch and former U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (Full biography below).

“Derek’s appointment is another important step in the strategy we began last year to move Senator Lee’s positive reform agenda forward,” said Senator Lee’s chief of staff Boyd Matheson. “Derek will be an integral part of our senior staff in executing our strategy and connecting it to the people of Utah.”

“While it was a difficult decision to step down from the state legislature, joining Senator Lee and his team at this time with this agenda is an amazing opportunity,” said Brown. “The Senator has established himself as a national thought leader and important player in the Republican Party.  I am excited to work with community, government and business leaders around the state to help them engage with the senator on this important agenda for Utah and the country.  It is a critical time in our history and Senator Lee has put forward positive solutions I believe are certain to be part of solving many of the challenges we face as a nation. ”

Senator Lee concluded by saying, “I have extraordinary staff in Washington and Utah who are all committed to serving the people of Utah.  I have appreciated Boyd pulling double-duty for the past year and value his vision, wisdom and insight.  With Derek joining the team we are well positioned for the next phase of our efforts.”

Derek Brown’s Biography

Representative Derek Brown currently serves in the Utah House of Representatives, where he serves as Vice Chair of the Rules Committee, Chair of the Occupational Professional Licensing Review Committee, and on both the Business/Labor and Law Enforcement Committees.  He is also Of Counsel with Pia Anderson Dorius Reynard Moss LLP.  Derek previously served as Counsel for Senator Robert F. Bennett in Washington, D.C., counsel for Senator Orrin Hatch in Salt Lake City, Utah, and practiced constitutional and appellate law with Sidley Austin LLP in its Washington, D.C. office.  He also served as law clerk for Judge Ruggero Aldisert on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  He has taught as an Adjunct Professor of law at Brigham Young University since 2007.  He currently serves as the Board President for the Utah Connections Academy, on the Board of Trustees for the Hale Center Theater, and on the Advisory Board for Intermountain Homecare.  He and his wife, Emilie de Azevedo, have four children.