Ralph R. Brown, a
seventh generation Iowan, was born in
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on December 13,
1944, and raised on a farm near where
his forbearers first settled in Iowa in
1837. He received his B.A. in political
science (with honors) in 1967 from Drake
University in Des Moines, Iowa, and his
J.D. in 1969 from the Drake University
Law School.
For three and a half years after law
school graduation, Ralph was employed as
an associate attorney with the Dircks,
Berger & Saylor law firm in Davenport,
Iowa. During that time he was also an
Assistant Scott County Attorney,
assigned to Juvenile Court.
From 1973 to 1975, Ralph served as the
Secretary of the Iowa State Senate, and
was the Executive Director of the
Republican Party of Iowa from 1975 to
1977.
In 1977, Ralph joined the McDonald,
Keller & Brown law firm in Dallas
Center, and is currently the senior
partner of the Brown, Fagen & Rouse firm. He has served as the
Dallas Center City Attorney since 1984;
as the school attorney for the Dallas
Center-Grimes Community School District
since 1986; and as the Granger City
Attorney since 1990. Ralph has an 'AV'
rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Ralph was appointed by Governor Robert
D. Ray as a member of the Iowa
Commission on the Status of Women
(1969-1975), and served as chair of its
Committee on Legal Rights. He was a
member of the Drake University Board of
Trustees from 1970 to 1978, and from
1976 to 1977 he chaired the Iowa Voter
Registration Commission.
He was appointed by two U.S. Secretaries
of Agriculture to serve on the United
States Department of Agriculture
Citizens Advisory Committee on Equal
Opportunity (1984-1993), and served as
the Committee's vice chair. From 1992 to
1993, he was one of Governor Terry E.
Branstad's appointees to the Iowa State
Government Ethics Committee.
President George H.W. Bush appointed him
as a member of the President's
Commission on Model State Drug Laws,
serving from 1992 to 1993. In 1993 he
was a founding director of the
non-profit National Alliance for Model
State Drug Laws, which continues the
work of the President's Commission. He
has served as the Alliance's corporate
counsel since 1993, and as vice chair
since 1996.
Governor Branstad appointed Ralph to the
Iowa Commission on Substance Abuse in
1995, and he held that position through
2001. Since 1999 he has been a member of
the Board of Directors (and general
counsel) of Face It Together, a
non-profit organization chaired by
Senator Charles E. Grassley that works
to develop strategies for Iowa
communities, families, and businesses to
respond to the challenges of drug and
alcohol abuse.
Ralph was a Presidential Elector from
Iowa in 1972; served as general counsel
to the Republican Party of Iowa from
1977 to 1993; was Dallas County
Republican Chairman from 1981 to 1989;
served as deputy counsel to the
Committee on Rules for the 1984
Republican National Convention; was an
alternate delegate to the 1980 and 1984
Republican National Convention; and a
delegate to the 1988 Republican National
Convention. He was a member of the Dole
for President political operation team
at the 1996 Republican National
Convention, and a member of the Bush for
President political operation team at
the 2000 Republican National Convention.
Ralph is a member of the Dallas County,
Iowa, and American Bar Associations. He
was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1969; to
the District of Columbia Bar in 2002; to
the United States District Courts for
the Southern and Northern Districts of
Iowa in 1969; to the United States Court
of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in 1989;
and the United States Supreme Court in
1981. He lives in Dallas Center.
In his general practice, his areas of
practice include: business and
commercial law; business organizations;
wills, trusts, estate planning, and
probate law; taxation law and tax
returns; real estate law; municipal and
school law; and election, campaign and
political law.
Representative Cases:
Clymer v. Shawd, 2007 WL 3963957 (Iowa
App. 2007)
In the Matter of the Estate of Maxine R.
Davis, 2002 WL 31758110 (Iowa App. 2002)
Hays v. Hays, 2000 WL 1421722 (Iowa App.
2000)
Hays v. Hays, 612 N.W. 2d 817 (Iowa App.
2000)
United States of America v. Articles of
Drug for Veterinary Use, 50 F. 2d 497
(8th Cir. 1995)
Drake v. Polk County Board of
Supervisors, 340 N.W. 2d (Iowa 1983)
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