Derek Edwin Brown was 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.
Professional and Family Life
He is married to Emilie De Azevedo Brown 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 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 was part of the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group, and authored numerous briefs on issues of constitutional law, including several filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. 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 Utah Counsel to U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch. Brown has since served as president and general counsel of a production company based in Salt Lake City. He is currently Of Counsel with the law firm Pia Anderson Dorius Reynard Moss LLC, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brown has also taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University since 2007, where he teaches courses in communications law and ethics. He serves on the advisory board for Intermountain Homecare and on the board of trustees for the Hale Center Theatre.
2010 Election
Derek was elected in November 2010 with 55.87% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jay Seegmiller.
2012 Election
Brown won his election in 2012 with approximately 60% of the vote.
