Derek Brown (politician)

Derek Edwin Brown (born May 26, 1971) is an American politician who served as a member of the Utah House of Representatives from his election in 2010, until his departure in 2014. He represented House District 49, which constitutes the Sandy and Cottonwood Heights areas. Brown left the legislature in January 2014, when he was selected by US Senator Mike Lee to be his deputy chief of staff.

Biography
He is married to Emilie de Azevedo Brown, the daughter of Lex de Azevedo. The couple has four children and live in Sandy, Utah. Derek graduated from Brigham Young University in 1996 with his B.A. in English, and minor degrees in music and business management. He and his wife were members of BYU's touring performance group, the Young Ambassadors. In 2000, he graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Pepperdine Law Review. While at Pepperdine, he also received the First Place Advocate award in the school's Dalsimer Moot Court Competition, as well as the annual Sorenson Writing Award for a published legal comment he wrote on tort law.

After law school, he was a law clerk to Justice Ruggero J. Aldisert of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, based in Philadelphia. Following, his time with the U.S. Court of Appeals he then practiced law in Washington, D.C., with the international law firm Sidley & Austin.

Brown left Sidley & Austin when U.S. Senator Bob Bennett asked him to serve as his chief counsel in Washington, D.C. Several years later, Brown relocated his family to his home state of Utah, where he served as counsel to U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch. Brown is an attorney licensed in the state of Utah.

Derek was elected in November 2010 to the Utah House of Representatives with 55.87% of the vote, defeating Democrat incumbent Jay Seegmiller. Brown won his election in 2012 with approximately 60% of the vote. He served in the House until accepting a position as Deputy Chief of Staff for United States Senator Mike Lee in 2014, where he managed policy and legal matters for the Senator, and served as the Utah State Director. After Senator Lee was re-elected in late 2016, Brown accepted a position as Vice President of Government Affairs for 1-800 Contacts, overseeing its 50-state lobbying effort and government relations efforts in Washington, D.C. He later left 1-800 Contacts to join the Utah Government Relations Firm Lincoln Hill Partners, where he continues to represent technology and healthcare clients, including 1-800 Contacts.

Brown has also taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University since 2007, where he teaches courses in communications law and ethics.

In 2019, Brown was elected as Chairman of the Utah Republican Party, a position in which he served until his term expired in 2021.

Brown announced on November 16, 2023 that he had formed an exploratory committee to consider running as the Republican nominee for Utah Attorney General. Brown's exploratory committee is chaired by former Utah Governor Gary Herbert.