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Washington Attorney General Nick Brown lays out office priorities, role differences and public-safety focus
Summary
At a Seattle University event, Attorney General Nick Brown described how the state AG’s civil-focused, statewide responsibilities differ from a U.S. attorney’s federal criminal work, discussed his office’s staffing and said he is prioritizing public-safety approaches that emphasize housing, mental-health and prevention.
Attorney General Nick Brown spoke at Seattle University and explained how his elected state role differs from serving as a U.S. attorney, outlining priorities that he said focus on everyday public-safety issues rather than only high-profile federal litigation.
Brown told the audience that a U.S. attorney is chiefly a federal prosecutor, “about 80% of the work is prosecuting cases on behalf of the federal government,” and that the state attorney general’s office “is principally civil work on behalf of the state.” He said Washington’s AG office represents every state agency and also has an independent authority to bring affirmative civil suits on behalf of the people of the state.
The attorney general emphasized the scale of his office, saying it includes 13 offices statewide and "834 lawyers," calling it the second-largest law firm on the West Coast after California’s AG office. By contrast, Brown said he supervised just under 80 lawyers when he served as U.S. attorney.
Why that distinction matters, Brown said, is because many of the AG office’s most consequential actions are not headline-grabbing suits but routine civil work that affects daily life: child-welfare litigation, tort defense for state entities, and consumer-protection cases. "There are lawyers and professional staff working very, very hard, on behalf of their clients and behalf of Washingtonians that never get the time and attention that, frankly, they deserve," he said.
On public safety, Brown acknowledged that county prosecutors handle the vast majority of criminal prosecutions and that the attorney general has limited original jurisdiction. He said the office is increasing its capacity to support local prosecutors in conflicts of interest or complex police-use-of-force cases and is expanding work on prevention-focused measures such as housing, mental-health services and reentry supports. "If you want to reduce crime, get people affordable places to live," Brown said, linking housing policy and safety outcomes.
Brown also addressed budget tensions with the governor’s office, saying Governor Jay Inslee’s successor (referred to in the discussion as Governor Ferguson) proposed a reduction of over $40,000,000 to the AG’s budget that the office largely opposed and successfully reduced. He described the governor–attorney general relationship as an attorney–client one, while noting the AG retains independent authority to bring suits on behalf of the state.
Brown closed by describing the personal demands of the job and the importance of work–life balance for his staff: "Every decision that I get to make matters," he said, but added that family and a private life remain a priority.
The event concluded with audience thanks and brief remarks from Seattle University President Eduardo Penalver.
