Doug Chalmers is the founder and Managing Member of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, LLC. Before establishing the firm, he was a partner in the political law and litigation practice groups of a large national law firm.

Doug practices in the areas of federal and state political law and litigation. He advises corporations, political committees, nonprofit and tax exempt organizations, advocacy groups, trade associations, elected officials, candidates, political parties, lobbyists and government agencies on the laws and regulations that govern involvement in political activities. This includes campaign finance, lobbying, election law, nonprofit law, FCC broadcast regulations, pay-to-play rules, government ethics and criminal law. He provides compliance advice and defends clients in contested cases in federal and state courts and before federal and state administrative agencies.

For nearly 30 years, Doug has represented clients in high-profile matters involving significant media coverage. Recognizing that political law is as much about politics as law, he regularly counsels clients on media and political strategy in addition to legal issues. He has served as chief counsel of a presidential campaign, as well as numerous statewide campaigns for governor, attorney general, secretary of state and other offices. He has successfully defended clients in such diverse matters as bar complaints, challenges to candidate qualifications, and campaign finance and election matters before the Federal Election Commission and State Ethics Commission.

Doug is a frequent speaker in his practice areas, and he has addressed seminars around the country. He has testified before legislative committees concerning government ethics, and is regularly contacted by the media on these issues. He has overseen or participated in numerous ethics training seminars, including for such diverse groups the Council on Government Ethics, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the American Association of Political Consultants and Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. His articles have been published in, and he has been quoted in, various national and state publications. He served as the Chairman of the Political Activities Subcommittee of the Nonprofit Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia.

Doug has a passion for mentoring younger lawyers and other professionals, and for public service. He served on the Judicial Nominating Commission for Governor Nathan Deal, and on the Board of Directors of the Department of Driver Services for Governor Sonny Perdue. He served on the Board of Governors of the Republican National Lawyers Association, and is a past chairman of the RNLA’s Georgia chapter. He is active in the Federalist Society, having served on the Board of Advisors for the Atlanta Lawyers Chapter. He was Assistant Scoutmaster of his son’s Boy Scout troop, and he served on the Board of Directors of The Will-to-Live Foundation, a teen suicide prevention organization. Doug is also the founder of Dad’s Guide to Adulting, an ongoing project through which Doug records and places videos on YouTube that provide practical and philosophical life advice to young adults.

Doug has been recognized by Chambers USA, Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine as one of the leading political law attorneys in the nation. James Magazine has also identified Doug as one of the most influential Republicans in Georgia.

Doug received his undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University. He was an editor of the Duke Law Journal and a member of the Moot Court Board, and he received the James S. Bidlake Award for Superior Achievement in Legal Research and Writing. He clerked in Portland, Oregon for Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Doug is admitted to practice in Georgia and the District of Columbia.