Attorney General Rutledge Names Cory Cox as Chief of Staff

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 17 -- Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued the following news release:

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today named Cory Cox of Perryville as Chief of Staff at the Attorney General's office following the departure of Carl Vogelpohl, who has served in that role since the beginning of Rutledge's term.

"There is no one better prepared to serve as my Chief of Staff than Cory Cox," said Attorney General Rutledge. "Not only does Cory have many years of experience across state government, but as my Legislative Director for nearly three years, he has developed strong relationships with members of the General Assembly and understands the need for this office to be the top law firm in the state. He has a tremendous work ethic, a desire to serve the public and I am confident he will do an exceptional job leading the team at the office to ensure that we continue to protect Arkansans from criminals, con artists and an overreaching federal government."

Cox, who has been serving as Legislative Director at Attorney General's office since 2015, began his career as Assistant Legal Counsel to Huckabee before being promoted to Deputy Chief Counsel. Under Huckabee, he formulated policy and legislation, served on the Criminal Code Revision Commission, the Arkansas Crime Information Center Steering Committee and as legislative counsel to the Governor during the 2003 Regular Session. In 2005, Cox was appointed as Director of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Arkansas Insurance Department. He served as Chairman of the Education and Training Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Anti-Fraud Task Force and as a subject matter expert in insurance fraud for the National White Collar Crime Center. Cox was a Partner in the law firm of Hiland, Thomas and Cox from 2009 until 2011, when he began serving under Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston as Staff Attorney and Legislative Affairs Liaison. In 2014, he was named Managing Attorney for the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Policy and Legal Services. A graduate of Arkansas Tech University, Cox obtained his juris doctor from the University Of Arkansas William H. Bowen School Of Law. Cox is also a member of the Perryville School Board.

On the departure of Vogelpohl, Rutledge said, "Carl has been a trusted and influential advisor. He has been a key member of my leadership team from the transition period before taking office through these first few years in my administration. Since his instrumental work on my 2014 campaign, I knew that at some point Carl would want to return to political consulting and with the 2018 election season approaching, that time has come. I am grateful to Carl for his advice and counsel, and more importantly his service to the people of Arkansas. I wish him nothing but the best as he pursues a new challenge."