Public Defense Agencies

The Office of Public Defense contracts with four public defense agencies to provide legal services to our clients. These four local law firms only handle King County public defense work. They take about 90% of King County's public defense cases, the remainder going to the assigned counsel panel.

Cases are assigned to an agency based upon the type of charge. Some agencies are only in certain courts or handle a particular case type. Clients are also screened for conflicts with the agencies. Every effort is taken to avoid conflicts between attorneys and their clients. Attorneys are not permitted to represent a client who was a witness, victim, or co-defendant on a previous case the attorney represented.

If you have been assigned to an agency by an OPD screener, please wait four business days from the date of screening and then call the agency to find out the name of your attorney. If you don't know to which agency you were assigned, please call OPD at 206-296-7662.

The four agencies are:

Associated Counsel for the Accused (ACA)
110 Prefontaine Place South, Suite 200
Seattle, WA 98104
206-624-8105
www.acawashington.org (external)

Northwest Defenders Association (NDA)
1109 First Avenue, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98101
206-674-4700  www.nwdefenders.org (external)

Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons (SCRAP)
1401 East Jefferson, Suite 200
Seattle, WA 98122
206-322-8400
www.societyofcounsel.org (external)

The Defender Association (TDA)
810 Third Ave, Suite 800
Seattle, WA 98104
206-447-3900
www.defender.org (external)