Former U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has joined Nixon Peabody as counsel to the firm’s Boston office with plans to specialize in governmental affairs related to the financial services industry and commercial real estate.
Brown became a senator in a January 2010 special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), defeating Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Last November, he lost that Senate seat to Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who, while a Harvard Law professor, helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Prior to his stint in the Senate, Brown was in the Massachusetts State Senate from 2004 to 2010 and in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1998 to 2004.
He earned his juris doctorate from Boston College Law School and has been a lawyer since 1985.
Early last month, Brown opted not to run for the state’s other Senate seat. Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) vacated that seat in January when the Senate confirmed him as secretary of state.
In January, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick tapped senior adviser William "Mo" Cowan as an interim senator. Cowan was a litigation partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo in Boston for a dozen years before taking a job with Patrick in 2009.
At a March 11 press conference at Nixon Peabody, Brown said he plans to continue speaking around the country and with a gig he picked up last monthas a Fox Broadcasting Co. contributor. Last month, he also joined the board of directors of Westford-based paper company Kadant Inc.
"I’ve been aware of Nixon Peabody and their legacy," said Brown at the press conference. He cited his relationship with counsel Jim Vallee, who joined Nixon Peabody’s Boston office in April 2012 after 18 years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
"I’ve been learning and understanding the opportunities within Nixon Peabody and my ability to bring that bipartisan problem solving [expertise] and grow with it," Brown said.
In response to a question, Brown said he wasn’t going to talk about his political future: "It’s something that I’ve enjoyed doing for the last 15 or so years. I’m not quite sure what the future holds. I’ll make that announcement in a while."
For now, "Nixon Peabody has provided the flexibility I need to continue my work at Fox" and public speaking, he added.
Concerning his decision not to run for the seat vacated by Kerry, Scott said he would have enjoyed serving, but "I didn’t’ like the fact that I would have had to raise another $30 million to $50 million."
Brown mentioned that he’s barred from lobbying for two years, but he can advise other Nixon Peabody lawyers and clients "about the jungle of Washington politics."
Also during the press conference, Andrew Glincher, the firm’s managing partner and chief executive office, said, "We’re very entrepreneurial and innovative, and Scott has always been somebody who is pro-business and very bipartisan. He’s a problem solver."
Brown is the third former U.S. senator to land at an Am Law 200 firm in recent weeks. Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchinson joined Bracewell & Giuliani as a senior counsel on February 6, as noted by sibling publication Texas Lawyer. And last week, sibling publication The Blog of Legal Times reported that another Republican, Jon Kyl of Arizona, had signed on with Covington & Burling as a senior adviser in the firm’s public policy and government affairs practice.
Sheri Qualters can be contacted at [email protected].
