Brian L. Schwalb

Brian L. Schwalb has committed his legal career to using the law in service of others, advocating for what matters most to the people and organizations he represents. As the District of Columbia's second independently-elected attorney general, Brian is committed to fighting for D.C., advancing the public interest, and ensuring that the law works to make the District safer, healthier, and more equitable for all who live and work here.

Brian is a third-generation Washingtonian. After graduating from Duke University and Harvard Law School, and completing a two-year judicial clerkship, Brian served as a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. After completing his service with the Justice Department, Brian entered private practice representing clients – individuals, businesses, nonprofits and families — in a multitude of high stakes matters including advocating for people injured by excessive, unconstitutional police force, defrauded out of their assets, and fighting for their lives on death row. 

Among other professional recognitions, Brian is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, whose membership is limited to the top 1% of area trial lawyers and whose careers have reflected the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and collegiality. Brian is also an experienced law firm leader, having served as Venable’s firm-wide Vice Chairman and then as the Partner-in-Charge of Venable’s D.C. office.

Outside the practice of law, Brian has volunteered his time, legal services, leadership, and mentorship to organizations dedicated to enhancing D.C.’s justice system, mentoring D.C. Public School students, and reducing the local impact of HIV/AIDS. Brian is also an active supporter of cancer treatment and prevention, Holocaust education, and has served as an officer and trustee of his synagogue. 

Brian and his wife Mickie Simon live in Ward 3 where they raised their three daughters – Jessica, Allison, and Sydney.

The Attorney General for the District of Columbia is the District’s chief legal officer. The D.C. Charter gives the Attorney General responsibility for “charge and conduct” of all the District’s law business. The charter also states that the Attorney General is “responsible for upholding the public interest.”

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) enforces the laws of the District, provides legal advice to the District’s government agencies, and promotes the interests of the District’s residents. OAG’s goal is to be the nation’s most effective and respected public law office.

The OAG has approximately 275 attorneys and 300 other professional staff members.

Learn about OAG’s structure and divisions.

What we don’t do…

While OAG takes on certain types of legal cases that promote the interests of the public, OAG cannot provide legal assistance to individual residents or get involved in private disputes.

Learn about other legal resources and agencies that may be able to assist you.

In addition, while OAG is the chief juvenile prosecutor for the District and also prosecutes certain adult misdemeanors, OAG shares prosecutorial authority for local crimes with the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Visit the website of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
 

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Open Government and FOIA - OAG

To find out if you personal information was compromised by the Equifax data breach and to learn steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft, click here. You can also learn other consumer protection tips from our Identity Theft and Online Privacy resources.

Given the massive size of the breach, Attorney General Racine suggests all District consumers take the following precautions:

1. Check to see if your personal information was compromised by visiting the special website Equifax has set up to assist consumers (https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/);
2. Regularly review your credit reports to check for any suspicious activity;
3. Contact the Office of the Attorney General if you believe your identity has been stolen or your personal information may have been exposed by a retailer by calling OAG’s Office of Consumer Protection through the OAG Consumer Hotline at (202) 442-9828, by sending an e-mail to consumer.protection@dc.gov, or online using OAG’s Consumer Complaint Form.
4. If you are a victim of the Equifax data breach, and you are concerned that your Social Security number may be used to file a fraudulent federal income tax return in your name, you can go to the IRS’s website at https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin and obtain a six digit PIN to use to authenticate your tax filings.

OAG brings court actions to stop deceptive and unconscionable business practices and to obtain compensation for consumers. Although OAG does not represent individual consumers, it helps consumers and merchants to resolve their disputes. In addition, it uses consumer complaint information to determine whether there is a pattern or practice by a business that warrants investigation or possible legal action by OAG.

To reach the Consumer Protection Hotline, call (202) 442-9828 or email consumer.protection@dc.gov. The office hours are Monday - Friday from 8:30am - 5:00pm.

Contact TTY: 711

Office Hours:

Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm

Service Location:

GIS Address: 441 4th Street, NW

City: Washington

State: DC

Zip: 20001

Office of the Tenant Advocate

If you are a tenant in a dispute with your landlord, please contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate for advice and links to resources, including legal representation.

Legal Service Providers

See our Community Resources page for a complete list of free and low-cost legal services providers in the District.

Below is a list of free legal services providers who specialize in housing matters. These providers do not give legal advice but they can help with things like filing documents in court, understanding the process on the day of your hearing, and in limited cases, finding an attorney to represent you in court.

• Neighborhood Legal Services:The Neighborhood Legal Services strives to provide legal assistance to low-income residents of the District of Columbia regarding preventing evictions, homelessness, and related legal matters. Phone (202) 832-5100 Fax (202) 832-1984.
   
• Bread for the City: Volunteer and Staff attorneys represent clients in landlord-tenant disputes, Social Security disability benefits, and public benefits cases.
   
• DC Law Students In Court Program, Inc.: Students from local law schools (with supervision from attorneys) provide legal assistance to low-income families in civil and criminal cases. 
   
• Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless: Provides legal representation to low- and no-income clients through volunteer attorneys.
   
• DC Bar Pro Bono Program: The DC Bar Pro Bono Program provides legal services, through training and recruiting volunteer attorneys in assisting low-income families. The program also helps small businesses and community-based non-profits seeking legal help.
   
• University of the District of Columbia School of Law Housing: The Housing and Consumer Law Clinic provides representation in housing-related civil litigation.
   
• DC Superior Court Landlord Tenant Court: The Resource Center provides free legal information to both unrepresented landlords and unrepresented tenants who have residential housing disputes.
   
• Legal Aid Society: The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia provides civil legal aid to low-income individuals, families and communities in the District of Columbia.

Tenant and Consumer Advocacy Organizations

The organizations below do not offer legal services or legal representation, but can provide advice and training on how to assert your rights as a tenant or consumer in the District.

• Latino Economic Development Center: Program assists low- to moderate-income Latinos and other DC area residents on financial advice.
   
• Housing Counseling Services: Provides comprehensive housing counseling, training, advocacy, technical assistance and housing opportunities for low and moderate-income homebuyers, homeowners, and tenants.
   
• DC Tenants Advocacy Coalition (TENAC): TENAC is a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated exclusively to tenant interests, tenant rights and support for rent control in the District of Columbia.
   
• DC Coalition for Housing Justice: Facilitates and encourages cooperation among local and national peace and social justice groups.

Contents

If you are a tenant renting a home, the resources and tools below can help you protect your legal rights and deal with any problems you may have with your housing or with your landlord.

• Know Your Rights
• Document and Report Problems
• Request a Housing Code Inspection from DCRA
• Dealing With Mold
• Get Legal Help
• Tenant and Consumer Advocacy Organizations

Know your rights

People who rent homes in the District of Columbia are protected by District law. The Office of the Tenant Advocate provides tenants with an overview of their basic rights, including the right to safe and sanitary living conditions. You can download a copy the Tenants Bill of Rights from the OTA website.

Click here to learn more about the laws that OAG can enforce to protect tenants.

Document and Report Problems

If you are having problems with your apartment, keep a notebook or diary. Track of all of the problems you are having, all of your conversations with the landlord, and any action the landlord takes to fix the issues. Keeping a record is very important in the event of a dispute about rent or repairs later.

• Start with a complete list of all the problems in your apartment. Write your name, unit number, and the date at the top of the list. If needed, make a separate list for problems in common/shared areas of your building or complex, such as hallways, stairwells, laundry rooms, and exterior areas.

Take photographs or videos of any problems in your unit or building.

• Remember to label each photograph with the date and specific location where the picture was taken. Make sure to do this at or close to the time you take the photo. If you end up in a dispute with your landlord about repairs later, the dates can be very important. Sometimes landlords argue that a photograph is older than the tenant claims, and that they have already fixed the issue; or they argue that the photograph is of new damage and that they were not notified. 
• If you are using a phone camera, email the photographs to yourself or to someone else right after you take them, along with a note that states when and where the photograph was taken. For example:

• Notify your landlord, resident manager, or rental office about the violations.
  • If possible, make all of your requests for repairs in writing. Keep a copy of every letter or note you write.
  • If you call the landlord or management company to report a problem, write down the date and time of each call, the name of the person who takes your complaint, and any statements made about repairs.
• Keep a record of all activities related to the repairs you requested, including when you informed the landlord or property manager of the problem, what the landlord or property manager did in response to the complaint, and when and if the repairs were completed.

Request a Housing Code Inspection from DCRA

Rental homes are required to meet the standards set out in the District’s housing code, and most basic maintenance issues that tenants encounter are covered by the code. Therefore, if your landlord fails to make needed repairs, you can request an inspection from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). If the DCRA inspector finds code violations in your unit or in your building, the inspector can issue Notices of Violation ordering your landlord to make repairs.

The DCRA website provides an overview of housing code standards that are common issues for tenants as well as a Quick Housing Code Checklist that tenants can use to identify and document common code violations in their units.

Note: Mold is not part of the Housing Code and DCRA does not cite for mold. Please see the mold section below on how to address a mold issue with your landlord.

a. Request a DCRA Inspection

You can contact DCRA to request an inspection in any of the following ways:

Email:
dcra.housingcomplaints@dc.gov

Phone:
(202) 442-4400

Mail:
DCRA Inspections and Compliance Administration
1100 4th Street, SW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20024

b. Property-wide inspections

If there are other tenants in your building or complex who have problems in their units, or if there are problems that affect the whole building or complex (such as roof leaks, sewage backups, or rodent or insect infestation), you may want to request a property-wide inspection from DCRA.

If you cannot be present during a scheduled DCRA inspection, but you want the inspectors to cite the landlord for violations that exist in your unit, you can authorize someone else to provide access to your unit using the following form:

• Link to PDF of DCRA authorization form

Dealing With Mold

Under District law, landlords are required to take action if a tenant notifies them of the presence of mold in their unit. See the below PDF for a summary of the legal requirements for landlords once they are notified of possible mold in a residence.

• Link to PDF of Mold Information

If there is mold in your apartment, send an email or a letter to your landlord about the mold.

Below is a form letter you can print out and fill in before sending to your landlord. Remember to keep a copy of your letter for your records.

• Link to PDF of Sample Mold Letter

After getting your email or letter, your landlord must perform a visual inspection of the mold within 7 days, and remove any mold that is found within 30 days of the inspection. The visual inspection must be done before the landlord takes any steps to remove the mold.

If a moldy area in your apartment is 10 square feet or more, your landlord must use a licensed professional to assess the mold problem, and another licensed professional to eliminate the mold.

Get Legal Help

If you are a tenant in a dispute with your landlord, please contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate for advice and links to resources, including legal representation.

Below is a list of free and low-cost legal services providers who specialize in housing matters. You can find additional information on free and low-cost legal services on our General Resources page.

• Neighborhood Legal Services
  Neighborhood Legal Services strives to provide legal assistance to low-income residents of the District of Columbia regarding preventing evictions, homelessness, and related legal matters.
• Bread for the City
  Volunteer and Staff attorneys represent clients in landlord-tenant disputes, Social Security disability benefits, and public benefits cases.
• University of the District of Columbia School of Law Housing and Consumer Law Clinic
  The Housing and Consumer Law Clinic provides representation in housing-related civil litigation.
• Legal Counsel for the Homeless
  Provides legal representation to low- and no-income clients through volunteer attorneys.
• University Legal Services
  University Legal Services (ULS) is an intake center for the Department of Housing and Community Development's housing programs that help low and moderate-income families and individuals buy homes, rehabilitate homes, and prevent mortgage default and foreclosure. ULS also provides rental counseling and assists DC residents with locating affordable and accessible housing.

Tenant and Consumer Advocacy Organizations

The organizations below do not offer legal services or legal representation, but can provide advice and training on how to assert your rights as a tenant or consumer in the District.

• Latino Economic Development Corporation
  Program assists low- to moderate-income Latinos and other DC area residents on financial advice.
• Housing Counseling Services
  Provides comprehensive housing counseling, training, advocacy, technical assistance and housing opportunities for low and moderate-income homebuyers, homeowners, and tenants.
• DC Tenants Advocacy Coalition (TENAC)
  TENAC is a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated exclusively to tenant interests, tenant rights and support for rent control in the District of Columbia.

The Housing and Environmental Justice Section primarily uses two laws in their work to protect District residents: the Tenant Receivership Act and the Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement statute.

• Under the Tenant Receivership Act, the Attorney General can ask a judge to appoint a Receiver for a property when a landlord’s chronic neglect and failure to make repairs endangers the health, safety, and security of the tenants. A Receiver is a neutral third party who takes control of the property, makes all decisions about its management and operation, and ensures necessary repairs are made. They must be experienced in managing rental property and taking care of tenants’ day-to-day needs. Click here for more information about the Tenant Receivership Act.
   
• Under the Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement statute, the Attorney General can take legal action against property owners who endanger the community by allowing their property to be used for certain types of illegal activity. If a judge finds that a property is being used to sell, store, or manufacture illegal drugs; to store firearms illegally; or to facilitate prostitution, the judge has broad powers to come up with a solution. For example, the court might order an owner to install cameras, hire security guards, add lighting, and ban certain visitors from their property. By bringing these cases, the Attorney General helps ensure that residents of all income levels, including those who may have limited means to relocate, are safe in their neighborhoods. Click here for more information on Nuisance Properties.

Read about OAG's housing justice legal wins here. 

Consumer Protection Issues

District law protects tenants from illicit practices by landlords like improper withholding of security deposits, collection of illegal late fees or attorney’s fees, harassing calls from debt collectors, improper rent increases, and other potentially deceptive practices. Tenants can submit complaints to the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection. Complaints are assigned to a mediator, who will contact the landlord to try and resolve the issue. In some cases, if a complaint affects a large number of tenants, the Attorney General may initiate an investigation, bring an action in court to stop the practice, and to seek restitution for harmed consumers and a payment to the District for penalties and costs.

Consumers with complaints against their landlords, or any other consumer complaint, can contact OAG’s Office of Consumer Protection through the OAG Consumer Hotline at (202) 442-9828, by sending an e-mail to SocialJustice@dc.gov, or online using OAG’s Consumer Complaint Form.

Restitution for Renters

In any lease, the landlord agrees to provide livable, safe housing to the tenants. In some cases, the Office of Attorney General may take action to hold landlords accountable under the District’s consumer protection laws for not holding up their end of the bargain in the lease. If a court finds that a landlord has defrauded or misled consumers, the landlord may be forced to pay restitution to those who have been harmed, as well as monetary penalties to the District. For more on our office’s work to protect consumers, visit our Office of Consumer Protection page.

Agency Partnerships

Our office works closely with other District agencies to protect safe and affordable housing in the District, particularly the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of the Tenant Advocate.

• The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) enforces District laws that require landlords to maintain apartments in a safe and habitable condition. These laws are referred to collectively as the District’s “housing code.” DCRA inspectors can issue Notices of Violation ordering landlords to correct housing code violations in a certain amount of time. DCRA also issues fines and penalties to landlords who fail to correct violations in a timely manner.
   
• The Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) helps tenants who are in disputes with their landlords, provides information about the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords, and provides legal and technical assistance for further action such as filing tenant petitions.

La Oficina del Fiscal General utiliza la ley para conservar las viviendas asequibles, proteger a los inquilinos y responsabilizar a los arrendadores abusivos y negligentes. Si un arrendador viola la ley y obliga a los inquilinos o residentes cercanos a vivir en condiciones peligrosas o insalubres, el personal de nuestro Departamento de Vivienda y Justicia Comunitaria puede intervenir. Este equipo lleva a cabo acciones legales para resolver problemas en propiedades donde el público está en peligro debido a violaciones persistentes al código de vivienda o actividad criminal sin control.

¿Cómo puede ayudar el OAG?

Recursos para inquilinos

Ayuda para inquilinos

Public Advocacy Division

The Public Advocacy Division promotes the rights of District residents through civil enforcement actions—with a particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. The Division is focused on civil rights, workers’ rights, consumer protection, housing conditions, antitrust, non-profit enforcement, environmental enforcement, and protecting elders and vulnerable adults from financial exploitation. The Division also works with advocacy partners and other jurisdictions to tackle federal and nationwide issues that affect the rights of those living or working in the District.

Civil Rights Section

The Civil Rights Section engages with individuals, advocacy organizations, and community groups to investigate and litigate discriminatory policies and practices that harm District residents, including discrimination in housing, education, public accommodations, and employment. The Section also advocates for legislation to strengthen anti-discrimination laws and engages in community outreach to educate residents regarding their rights.  

Elder Justice Section

The Elder Justice Section protects District elders and vulnerable adults from financial exploitation. The Section investigates and pursues civil cases to stop financial exploitation, seeks restitution for victims, and obtains civil penalties against perpetrators, under the District’s Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults and the Elderly Act and other statutes. The Section also works with agency and nonprofit partners to address systemic issues affecting older District residents and conducts community outreach to raise awareness of financial exploitation and to increase reporting.

Learn more about protecting elders and vulnerable from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Housing and Environmental Justice Section

The Housing and Environmental Justice Section litigates cases essential to preserving safe and habitable housing and enforces environmental laws that disproportionately impact low-income communities of color in the District. The Section holds landlords accountable when they fail to maintain rental units in accordance with the Housing Code and takes action to protect communities from drug, firearm and prostitution-related nuisances by enforcing the District’s Tenant Receivership Act and Nuisance Abatement Act. The Section’s environmental attorneys represent the District in utility rate-setting cases before the Public Service Commission and investigate and litigate matters under the District’s environmental laws that govern waste management, lead paint, engine idling, and water pollution control to ensure District residents have access to clean water and air and lead-free housing. The Section also drafts and supports legislation designed to protect tenants and the environment and regularly works with advocacy partners and the District’s Department of Energy and the Environment to ensure the District timely and relevantly respond to matters of most importance to our communities. In addition, the environmental attorneys contribute regularly to multi-state environmental litigation and comment letters.

Learn more about the work of the Housing and Environmental Justice Section.

Office of Consumer Protection

The Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) enforces the District's consumer protection laws and other public protection laws, including those related to debt collection and privacy. OCP investigates and litigates against businesses that are taking advantage of consumers to stop unlawful practices, obtain restitution and damages for consumers who have been harmed, and impose penalties to defer future unlawful conduct. OCP also mediates disputes between consumers and businesses. Finally, OCP drafts and supports legislation that protects consumers, and educates consumers through outreach events, an up-to-date online Consumer Resources library, and the distribution of consumer protection guides.

Learn more about the Office of Consumer Protection

Antitrust and Nonprofit Enforcement Section

The Antitrust and Nonprofit Enforcement Section enforces District and federal antitrust law and District statutes and common law relating to nonprofit corporations and charities.

Antitrust

The Section investigates and litigates matters involving harm to local businesses and competition in the District, including as part of regional and national multi-state groups. These cases include challenges to illegal price-fixing, bid-rigging, monopolistic practices, and restrictions on employment, as well as mergers that may harm competition, in almost any industry.

Learn more about District antitrust issues, including how to report potential antitrust violations.

Nonprofits and Charities

The Section enforces the District’s Nonprofit Corporations Act to ensure that nonprofits incorporated in or doing business in the District comply with the law and their charitable purposes. The Section also uses the Attorney General’s traditional common law authority to ensure that charitable funds are not wasted and that a nonprofit’s directors, officers, and trustees of charitable organizations act in the nonprofit’s best interests.

Learn more about District nonprofit or charities law, including how to notify the section of planned changes to or dissolution of a nonprofit, and how to report a violation of DC nonprofit law.  

Workers’ Rights and Antifraud Section

The Workers’ Rights and Antifraud Section holds employers accountable for paying the wages they owe their employees. The Section protects workers’ rights to minimum wage, overtime pay, and sick and safe leave. It also investigates and litigates against businesses that misclassify their employees as independent contractors to avoid the protections accorded workers by District law. The Section also seeks recovery from companies and individuals who defraud the District, resulting in the loss of public funds, including non-resident tuition fraud.

Learn more about this Section’s work to protect workers’ rights.

Below you'll find links to commonly referenced legal opinions and guidance.

Attorney General's Legal Opinions

Legal Advice to ANCs: 
The Office of the Attorney General is charged by statute (D.C. Official Code § 1-309.12(d)(4)) with providing legal guidance to Advisory Neighborhood Commissions with regard to statutes and other issues concerning or affecting ANCs. This advice and guidance function is performed by the Legal Counsel Division. Commissions can obtain this guidance by emailing oag.anc@dc.gov. Advice letters in response to requests for guidance are posted for public viewing on the OAG website and provide a valuable resource for researching past issues. Commissions are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this resource before submitting a query to OAG. 

Legal Advice Memos

Requirements of the District’s Data Breach Notification Law

Immigration guidance for District Schools in English and Spanish

Immigration guidance for employers in English and Spanish

DC Marijuana Laws

Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) Notices

Ethics Information for DC Employees

DC Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations

Your Wage Rights

Tenant Receivership Act

File a Claim Against the District

Predatory mortgage lending, whether undertaken by creditors, brokers, or even home improvement contractors, involves engaging in deception or fraud, manipulating the borrower through aggressive sales tactics, or taking unfair advantage of a borrower's lack of understanding about loan terms.

Predatory lenders will target homeowners who have equity in their homes and may also have credit problems or need cash. They will advertise their services to people in financial need - people who may have fallen behind in paying their bills, or need money for medical bills, cars or costly home repairs. Often targeted are the elderly, low-wage earners and minority homeowners.

The Office of the Attorney General and the District of Columbia are fighting on behalf of DC citizens against the abusive practices of predatory mortgage lenders. If you have questions or would like to learn more about what you can do to combat these practices, visit HUD, The National Association of Consumer Advocates, The Federal Trade Commission and The Better Business Bureau. 

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About Predatory Lending