James Randolph Evans (born September 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the

United States Ambassador to Luxembourg The United States Ambassador to Luxembourg oversees the U.S. Embassy in that country. They supervise the embassy staff in the conduct of diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and coordination of the activities of U.S. Governmen ...

from 2018 to 2021. He presented his credentials on June 19, 2018 to the

Grand Duke of Luxembourg The Grand Duke of Luxembourg ( lb, Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg, french: Grand-duc de Luxembourg, german: Großherzog von Luxemburg) is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it ...

. A member of the Republican Party from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

, he specializes in

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

, as well as professional, legal and government

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

. Evans is a partner at the global law firm

Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with 42 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C. based Patton Boggs. It is one of the 30 largest law firms in the ...

. On September 21, 2017, he was selected by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

to become the next

. The nomination, which was submitted to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

on September 28, 2017, was confirmed on May 24, 2018. On January 20, 2021, Evans resigned as United States Ambassador to Luxembourg with the end of President Trump's term in office. Pending appointment of his successor by incoming President Biden, his responsibilities were assumed in an acting capacity by Casey Mace, Charge d'Affaires.U.S. Mission Luxembourg (2021-01-21). Chargé d'Affaires Casey Mace. Retrieved from https://lu.usembassy.gov/charge-daffaires-casey-mace/.

Early life and education

Randy Evans was born in

Dublin, Georgia Dublin is a city in Laurens County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,074. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History The original settlement was named after Dublin, Ireland. Dublin, accordi ...

, on September 24, 1958."New defender a tireless worker, longtime friend, political ally," The Atlanta Constitution, January 16, 1997. He grew up in

Warner Robins, Georgia Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in th ...

,"Gingrich's New Lawyer Described as Longtime Ally, Workaholic," Fulton Daily Report, December 20, 1996. where he graduated from Northside High School in 1976. He was awarded a debate scholarship to West Georgia College in

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton, Georgia is a city in the northwest region of Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line. It is the county seat of Carroll County, which is included in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Historically, ...

. Evans was elected in 1979 as President of the West Georgia College Student Government Association. Evans majored in Political Science and minored in Mathematics and Speech, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'', in 1980. While a student at West Georgia, Evans volunteered for Newt Gingrich's 1976 losing and 1978 winning campaigns. In 1979, Evans lived in the basement of Gingrich's Virginia home while he interned for the freshman congressman. Evans graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law sc ...

in 1983, ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

''.

Legal career

Evans began his legal career at Bondurant, Miller, Hishon & Stephenson, a law firm in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1985, Evans joined Arnall, Golden and Gregory, where he worked for 18 years. In 2003, Evans started working at

McKenna Long & Aldridge McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (MLA) was a United States-based international law and public policy firm with more than 575 attorneys and public policy advisors in 15 offices and 13 markets. The firm provided legal, business, and pub ...

. On July 1, 2015, McKenna, Long & Aldridge merged with

Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...

, where Evans was a partner until resigning in April 2018 as the U.S. Senate considered his nomination for Ambassador to Luxembourg. In March 2021, Evans joined

as a senior partner.

National political career

Evans chaired Newt Gingrich's campaign organization, the Friends of Newt Gingrich (FONG), in Gingrich's successful reelection contests in 1988 and 1990. In 1995, Gingrich retained Evans as his

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

to the

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the ...

. After Gingrich stepped down as Speaker at the end of 1998, Evans negotiated a variety of business ventures for Gingrich, including a television contract with FOX News and book contracts for several books, including various ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Evans chaired Gingrich's companies from their inception in 1999 until Gingrich's 2011 announcement that he would run for president. Upon his election as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1999,

Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert (; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-se ...

retained Evans as his general counsel to the Speaker. Evans represented Hastert throughout his tenure as the longest serving Republican Speaker of the House in history including the Bush vs. Gore election in 2000 and the attacks on September 11, 2001. Beginning in 2002, Evans represented Georgia Governor

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as t ...

, who was the first Republican governor in Georgia since Reconstruction. Later, Perdue nominated

Harold Melton Harold David Melton (born September 25, 1966) is a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Early years and education A 1984 graduate of Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, Melton received a Bachelor of Science from ...

to the Georgia Supreme Court. Melton was appointed as the first Republican African-American justice to Georgia's Supreme Court. Evans went on to represent Perdue's successor, Governor

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party in 1992 an ...

. Evans has represented former House Republican Conference Chairman J. C. Watts since his last term in Congress. He later served as the chair of the board of some of Watt's companies. In conjunction with Susan Hirschman (former Chief of Staff for Majority Leader

Tom DeLay Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republic ...

) and

Bill Paxon Leon William Paxon (born April 29, 1954) is an American lobbyist and former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Early life Paxon was born in Akron, New York, near Buffalo. At the age of 15, Paxon volunteered fo ...

(former National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman), Evans designed and formed the first political organization after the effective date of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in order to receive non-federal money. After challenges by

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President ...

, the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

found that the entity – as structured – could accept non-federal money. In 2005–2006, Evans participated in the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

litigation known as the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act as counsel to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Evans served as a senior advisor to Newt Gingrich's 2012 campaign for the Republican nomination for President until Gingrich's suspended his campaign in late April 2012.

Georgia political career

Evans was elected chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party in 1985, as well as chairman of the Sixth Congressional District in 1987 and 1989. Evans served as general counsel to the

Georgia Republican Party The Georgia Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Georgia and one of the two major political parties in the state and is currently chaired by David Shafer. Current structure David Shafer is the current ...

for eight years, beginning with his appointment by then Republican Chairman

Ralph Reed Ralph Eugene Reed Jr. (born June 24, 1961) is an American political consultant and lobbyist, best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition during the early 1990s. He sought the Republican nomination for the office of L ...

in 2001. He was reappointed by Georgia Republican Party Chairman Alec Poitevint in 2003 and 2005, and by Georgia Republican Party Chairman Sue Everhart in 2007 and 2009. From 2009 to 2011, Evans served as finance chair to the Georgia Republican Party. In 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2016, Evans was selected as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

. Evans was appointed and served as the Republican National Committeeman from Georgia for the

2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...

(when Alec Poitevint was Georgia State Chairman). Evans served as an elector for the State of Georgia in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections. Evans served on the state committee and state executive committee of the Georgia Republican Party for years. From 2003 to 2016, Evans served as the chairman of the Georgia Republican

Convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

. He served as the co-chair of the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission and as the Republican National Committeeman from Georgia. He previously served as a member of the five-person Georgia State Election Board for ten years.

Personal life

Evans, who is married to Linda Evans, a former Wall Street lawyer, has one son; his hobbies include playing chess and following the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

References

External links

Biography at Squire Patton Boggs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Randy 1958 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Ambassadors of the United States to Luxembourg Baptists from Georgia (U.S. state) Federalist Society members Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans People from Dublin, Georgia People from Warner Robins, Georgia Republican National Committee members Trump administration personnel 2008 United States presidential electors 2012 United States presidential electors 2016 United States presidential electors University of Georgia alumni University of West Georgia alumni 21st-century American diplomats People associated with Squire Patton Boggs