Former Congressman and Special Counsel at Adams and Reese, Bradley Byrne, was honored this week by the City of Mobile as Patriot of the Year for 2021. This year's Veterans Day celebration took place at Fort Whiting on November 11, 2021, where Byrne delivered a speech at the annual Honors Luncheon.
A native of Mobile and graduate of UMS Wright Preparatory School, Byrne served as the U.S. Representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district. During his service in the U.S. Congress he served on the Armed Services Committee, where he was an advocate for strengthening America's defense, especially shipbuilding and creating the new Space Force.
Byrne served as an elected member to the Alabama State Board of Education and the Alabama Senate and was appointed as the Chancellor of Alabama's two-year college system. In that role, Byrne was tasked with cleaning up rampant corruption and reforming the mission and processes, substantially increasing Alabama's educational standards and accountability measures. He also chaired Alabama's Workforce Planning Council.
Following his four terms of service representing Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives, Byrne joined Adams and Reese, a southern U.S. and Washington D.C.-based law firm, in January 2021. As Special Counsel, he provides government relations services at the state and federal levels, corporate advice and counsel, economic development services, and labor relations counsel for a mix of private businesses, public entities, and state and federal associations.
Byrne received his Bachelors from Duke University, and he went on to the University of the Alabama School of Law, where he received his J.D.