Rachel F. Cotton

Rachel Cotton advises organizations and senior executives facing high-stakes government scrutiny, drawing on her background leading investigations strategy inside the White House and elsewhere in the Executive Branch. She co-chairs the firm’s Crisis Management and Strategic Response team and focuses on congressional and executive branch investigations, white collar matters, and crisis response.

Prior to joining Arnold & Porter, Rachel served as Deputy Counsel to the President in the White House Counsel’s Office, where she oversaw and coordinated the White House’s legal strategy in response to congressional oversight and government investigations involving the President and White House officials. She worked closely with senior White House officials to assess legal, political, and institutional risk and to coordinate responses across stakeholders.

Rachel also held senior general counsel roles in Executive Branch agencies, serving as General Counsel to the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and as Deputy General Counsel in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. In those roles, she advised agency leadership on investigations, oversight matters, and complex issues at the intersection of law and policy. 

Rachel’s experience also includes service as counsel to a special investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, providing her with firsthand insight into congressional investigative processes. Earlier in her career, Rachel was a partner in private practice and before law school, she served as a communications staffer in the U.S. Senate.