The Office of the Seattle City Attorney is also known as the Law Department under Article XIII of the City Charter. With more than 90 attorneys, the City's Law Department is one of the largest law offices in Seattle and is the third largest public law office in the state.
The Law Department is divided into four major divisions:
The Administration Division staff provide budgeting, accounting, human resource, clerical and information technology services for the City Attorney's Office.
The Criminal Division prosecutes traffic infractions, misdemeanors, and gross misdemeanors in Seattle Municipal Court. The types of cases prosecuted by the Criminal Division include driving under the influence, traffic infractions, misdemeanor domestic violence, misdemeanor theft, and trespassing.
The Civil Division represents the City in lawsuits and advises City officials as they develop programs, projects, policies, and legislation. The sections within the Civil Division are torts (claims), governmental affairs, land use, environmental protection, labor and employment, contracts/utilities, and regulatory enforcement and economic justice.
The Precinct Liaison Division assigns an assistant city attorney as a liaison to each of the City's five police precincts as another way of addressing public safety and neighborhood livability problems.
