(The Center Square) – A review committee for the Washington State Bar Association’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel has formally dismissed a complaint against Attorney General Nick Brown following a 10-month investigation in which the bar threatened Brown with having his law license suspended.
The dismissal means there can be no further appeal on the matter.
Last month, The Center Square reported that a bar complaint filed last year against Brown and initially dismissed was assigned to a review committee, which consists of three members, two lawyers and a non-lawyer.
While WSBA investigations are confidential and concern individuals solely as private attorneys, communications to and from the WSBA regarding the complaint were done with public emails, creating a public record of the investigation.
The bar complaint was initially filed after The Center Square reported that Brown had signed an amicus brief in support of private law firm Perkins Coie’s motion for a temporary restraining order against President Trump’s executive order in March cancelling their federal contracts. Just weeks prior, Perkins Coie had begun merger discussions with London-based firm Ashurst.
Perkins Coie’s motion for a TRO was granted in March, but the lawsuit is still ongoing on appeal. The WA AGO did not file an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit itself.
Among the allegations in the bar complaint against Brown is that amicus brief did not disclose that at the time Perkins Coie had 10 active contracts with the Attorney General’s Office, making the firm a Special Assistant Attorney General.
After the complaint was filed, the WSBA sent Brown a May 13 letter asking him to respond to the allegations by July 3. When he did not respond, the WSBA sent a follow up letter on July 3 demanding he respond by July 16. The letter warned with underlining that “If we do not receive your response within the ten-day period, we can subpoena you for a deposition. You should be aware that failing to respond is, in itself, grounds for discipline and may subject you to interim suspension.”
Both letters were sent to Brown’s Executive Assistant Angie Adams, who the day after the July 16 deadline reached out to various individuals in the AGO on how to proceed. A response was eventually sent to the WSBA on Brown’s behalf by Solicitor General Noah Purcell, a former Perkins Coie attorney, after requesting and receiving two additional extensions.
The investigation was handed over to Senior Disciplinary Counsel Henry Cruz, while the WSBA solicited a counter response from the complainant and then a second response from Purcell.
The complaint was later dismissed hours after The Center Square reached out to the WSBA for comment on the investigation.
While the AGO has previously told The Center Square the complaint was frivolous, according to emails obtained through a records request, the WSBA sent a July 10 letter to Brown stating that a separate complaint against him had been dismissed before it had been assigned to a disciplinary officer or a response had been requested from Brown to the allegations.
