Former Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio has joined the powerful Denver-based law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, the firm said Thursday.

Palacio plans to offer advice on a consulting basis with Brownstein’s State & Local Legislation & Policy Group, part of its Government Relations practice, while continuing with his political and consulting work.

“As we continue to expand our focus on a national state and local policy practice we are always looking to add the best talent to our team,” said Doug Friednash, chair of the policy group and a former Denver city attorney.

“Rick’s proven experience helping candidates, committees and corporate industries create winning strategies for improving their work in government and political affairs complements our established government relations talent and enables us to further our reach here in Colorado and across the country.”

Palacio told Colorado Politics he’s looking forward to “working with what I consider one of the best teams in Colorado.”

“Issues now are heightened and magnified given the crisis that we’re in,” he said. “State and local governments are looking for guidance from the federal government, and the business community is looking to government for answers to questions they might have about how to navigate the system. These are unprecedented times; it really makes the challenges all that much greater.”

Palacio, 45, is a founding partner of polling and political research firm Majority Institute and owns PS Group, a consulting firm that works with progressive clients. Last year, he played key roles in John Hickenlooper’s presidential campaign and the Giddy Up leadership PAC formed by the former governor in advance of his run.

The sixth-generation Pueblo native won election to the first of three two-year terms as state party chairman in 2011. He was the first Latino and first openly gay Democrat to chair the Colorado party. Following an unsuccessful run for a vice chair position on the Democratic National Committee in 2017, he was named to a transition advisory committee created by the newly elected DNC chair, Thomas Perez.

Prior to heading the party, Palacio worked as a legislative aide in the Colorado House of Representatives and in Congress for former U.S. Rep. John Salazar and as deputy director of member services for then-Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. House.

Founded in 1968, Brownstein boasts “the strongest bipartisan team of public policy advocates in the country,” according to the chair of its government relations department, and has lobbying practices in Denver, Washington, D.C., California, Nevada and New Mexico. Last year, it eclipsed rivals to become the top earner nationally among federal government lobbyists.