WASHINGTON, DC – Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced three new appointments to the Office of Attorney General’s (OAG) senior leadership team.
“District residents deserve the best and brightest fighting for them and their interests,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “I’m thrilled that Luz Martinez and Sarah Comeau have joined the OAG’s senior leadership team. Their talents, wealth of knowledge, and extensive experience advocating for DC residents will enhance the work of our office. And OAG is fortunate to retain the extraordinary talents of Lauren Haggerty who, in her new promoted role of First Assistant, will continue driving our office’s mission of fighting for justice and protecting DC residents.”
Lauren Haggerty, First Assistant Attorney General
Lauren Haggerty has been promoted to First Assistant Attorney General, reporting to the Attorney General and working with the Chief Deputy Attorney General to supervise OAG’s Divisions and advise the Attorney General on the full range of issues affecting the agency, including management of OAG’s annual budget of more than $150 million. In her previous role as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel, Ms. Haggerty oversaw OAG’s legislative, communications, grants, and community engagement efforts, and advised the Attorney General on OAG’s legal practice and operations. Ms. Haggerty has worked at OAG for approximately six years, previously serving as the Special Counsel for Public Safety and Youth Initiatives and as a Trial Attorney in OAG’s Domestic Violence and Special Victims Section. Before her time at OAG, Ms. Haggerty served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Crimes Against Children Division at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in Dallas, Texas.
She earned her J.D. from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and her B.A. in English from Rutgers University.
Luz Martinez, Chief of Staff
Luz Martinez now serves as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Schwalb. Ms. Martinez was previously Chief of Staff at Fulcrum Public Affairs, a bipartisan government affairs firm specializing in federal relations, state and local advocacy, and stakeholder coalition building. Prior to that, Ms. Martinez worked with local elected officials in DC Government as Chief of Staff and Communications Director to Ward 1 DC Councilmember and Chair of the Committee on Human Services, Brianne K. Nadeau, and as an Analyst for At-Large Councilmember Robert White. At the DC Council, Ms. Martinez was focused on expansion of universal early childhood care, increasing access to affordable housing, removing barriers to employment for returning citizens, and restoring voting rights to historically disenfranchised groups.
In 2020, she served as Communications and Digital Director for Councilmember White’s reelection campaign. She became the first Latina to run a mayoral campaign in Washington, DC, serving as Campaign Manager to At-Large Councilmember Robert White during the 2022 Democratic Primary. Her work in communications has been recognized by several organizations, including EMILY’s List and the Washington Women in PR.
She earned her B.A. from Mississippi State University.
Sarah Comeau, Senior Counsel
Sarah Comeau now serves as Senior Counsel to Attorney General Schwalb. Prior to joining OAG, Ms. Comeau was the Director of Programs and Co-Founder of School Justice Project (SJP), a DC-based legal services and advocacy organization that provides special education representation to older, court-involved young people with disabilities. While at SJP, Ms. Comeau litigated several federal court cases surrounding access to education in correctional facilities and IDEA entitlements for incarcerated young people. In addition to her impact litigation work, Ms. Comeau advocated for policy and legislative changes affecting access to education for court-involved students with disabilities.
Ms. Comeau began her legal career as a JD Distinguished Fellow at the Juvenile Services Program at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS). At PDS, she worked as a post-graduate attorney in the District's secure detention facilities--Youth Services Center and New Beginnings Youth Development Center. Ms. Comeau primarily focused on conditions of confinement and due process and liberty issues.
She earned her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and her B.S. from Ithaca College.
In addition to the above appointments, Damon King and Jenny Kessler have joined OAG’s policy and legislative affairs team as Policy Advisors.