Former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn Associates With Adams and Reese’s Government Relations Practice

Adams and Reese is pleased to announce former senior White House official and experienced consultant Rick A. Dearborn has associated with the firm’s government relations practice. Dearborn, a Partner with The Cypress Group LLC, will serve as Senior Policy Advisor.

Dearborn has more than 30 years of government and private-sector experience in Washington, D.C., having served two U.S. presidents, six U.S. senators, a premier think tank and a major trade association on Capitol Hill. From January 2017 through March 2018, Dearborn served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Intergovernmental Affairs and Implementation under President Donald Trump. He also led President Trump’s Presidential Transition Team as its executive director. Prior to those roles, Dearborn served as Chief of Staff to former U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions from 2005 – January 2017, and had served as the senator’s Legislative Director since 1997.

In 2003, between serving as Senator Sessions’ Legislative Director and Chief of Staff, President George W. Bush nominated Dearborn to become the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional Affairs, a role in which he worked with the Senate, House and Tribal Governments on the president’s energy agenda.

“We are excited to bring an advisor of Rick’s caliber to our team,” said B. Jeffrey Brooks, a partner in the firm’s government relations practice and chairman of Adams and Reese’s Executive Committee. “Rick is well connected among senior officials and legislators in Washington, and he is an exceptional strategist. He is a great addition to Adams and Reese and adds immense capability to our team.”

Dearborn has previously worked at the National Republican Senatorial Committee for Sens. Rudy Boschwitz and Don Nickles; The Heritage Foundation, where he was Director of Congressional Relations; and as a lobbyist for the American Medical Association. He has served in Senate Leadership Offices for Senators Trent Lott and Bob Kasten on the Senate Republican Conference, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as Executive Director of the Senate Steering Committee.

“I am proud to associate with an esteemed team of government relations advisors and attorneys at Adams and Reese,” said Dearborn. “It’s an honor to work with a forward-thinking team with such outstanding talent in the legal and business spheres. I look forward to bringing my knowledge to the table and collaborating with my colleagues on federal and state strategy and public policy.”

Dearborn is a 1988 graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He is not licensed to practice law, and maintains a separate strategic planning, corporate advisory and corporate advocacy business as a Partner with The Cypress Group, LLC.