Nick
Brown
PARTNER
Drawing on his experience in public service and private practice, Nick Brown represents clients in civil and regulatory litigation, public policy, municipal law, and political matters.
Nick Brown is a litigation partner at Pacifica Law Group, where he focuses on assisting public and private clients with complex civil and regulatory litigation, public policy, municipal law, and political matters.
Nick provides strategic advice and counsel to clients to prevent legal challenges from occurring, and helps them effectively and efficiently resolve litigation or crisis management matters that do arise. He has extensive trial experience before juries, trial judges and the Ninth Circuit, and has handled cases ranging from simple prosecutions to complex multi-million dollar cases involving numerous defendants. In addition, Nick’s experience working with state and federal leaders, his substantial involvement in legislative matters, and his first-hand experience with election issues enables him to navigate political and policy matters for clients.
President Biden in 2021 appointed Nick to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, a position he held until June 2023. In that role Nick oversaw the Department of Justice operations for the entire district, including both civil and criminal matters. From 2013-2017, he was General Counsel to the Governor of Washington, advising on an array of legal issues, including high-priority litigation, criminal justice policy, tribal gaming and Indian law, and clemency petitions. He also managed the Governor’s judicial appointments, including the appointment of 52 judges.
Prior to that, Nick served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, where he was responsible for the management of a variety of federal criminal cases, from initial investigation to trial and sentencing, and through the appellate process. In that role, Nick appeared before every federal judge in the Western District of Washington and prosecuted over 100 individual cases.
Nick also previously served as trial counsel for the U.S. Army at JBLM, WA, trial defense counsel for the U.S. Army Trial Defense Services, Ft. Bliss, TX and Bagdad, Iraq, and legal assistance attorney/tax officer for the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Center, Ft. Bliss, TX.
Bar Admissions:
- Washington
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Education:
- Morehouse College, B.A. Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude (Army ROTC, Student Government)
- Harvard Law School, J.D. (Harvard Law School Council, International Law Journal)
Speaking:
- Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector Generals Convention, Keynote Address, 2023
- Northwest Justice Project Jubilee for Justice, Keynote Address, 2022
- Stolen Youth, Not on Our Watch Luncheon, Keynote Address, 2022
- Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General Conference, Keynote Address, 2022
- Seattle University Law School Public Interest Auction, Keynote Speaker, 2021
- Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Annual Conference, Keynote Speaker, 2021
- Spokane County Bar Association, Diversity Luncheon, Keynote Speaker, 2018
- Center for Justice, Rise for Justice Program, Keynote Speaker, 2017
- Gonzaga Law School, Ethics in the Law Clarke Prize CLE Presenter, 2016
- NAACP – Alaska, Oregon, Washington State Annual Conference, Keynote Address, 2015
- Washington Minority Bar Association Conference (WAMBAC), Co-Chair, 2013 and 2015
- Initiative for Diversity Judicial Institute: An Inside View on Getting Appointed, 2014 and 2017
- Saint Martin’s University Criminal Justice Speaker Series, 2014
- King County Bar Association New Lawyer Swearing in Event, Keynote Address, 2014
- Washington Correction Center for Women-Violence Reduction Family Forum, 2014
- Starbucks Headquarters Presentation: A Conversation on the Death Penalty, 2014
- TEDx Presentation at Monroe Correctional Complex: Examining Executive Clemency, 2014
Community Involvement:
- Federal Judicial Selection Committee, Chair, 2018-2020
- Mayoral appointment to Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, Commissioner, 2018-2021; elected Chair, 2020
- Board of Directors, Campaign for Equal Justice
- Gubernatorial appointment to Washington State Public Records Review (Sunshine) Committee, 2013-2017
- Gubernatorial appointment to Washington State Statute Law Committee, 2013-2017
- Gubernatorial appointment to Washington State Body Worn Camera Taskforce, 2016-2017
- Board of Directors: Treehouse, 2014-2021
- Seattle Works, 2007-2013
- WSBA Leadership Institute, Board of Directors, 2017-2021
- Federal Bar Association, 2007-Present
- Loren Miller Bar Association, 2007-Present