Brian Schwalb, a longtime trial attorney and partner-in-charge of the Venable law firm’s D.C. office, will run for attorney general in 2022, becoming the latest candidate to enter the city’s wide-open race for the next chief legal officer.

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       Schwalb, who is running as a Democrat, announced his decision in an interview with The Washington Post. He is a D.C. native and Ward 3 resident, and he said his experience trying complex cases for individuals and small firms makes him capable of leading the office — building off the efforts of incumbent Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D), who has decided not to seek a third term.

       “I think the attorney general’s office has the most direct line to making people’s lives better and safer while bringing that impact through advocacy, litigation and legislation every day,” Schwalb said. “And if the work is done well and strategically, we’ll have a continued prosperity that everyone shares in.”

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       The 54-year-old earned his law degree from Harvard and worked previously as a trial attorney for the Justice Department, where he defended and prosecuted civil tax matters. He then went into private practice for about six years before joining Venable in 2005. He served as vice chairman of the firm for four years before he was named partner-in-charge of the D.C. office in 2016.

       Oftentimes, Schwalb said, his legal work focuses on negotiating with parties with difficult and competing interests, as well as litigating those cases when collaboration is not achievable. He has done pro bono work for police misconduct cases; he has also helped a man placed on death row in Alabama earn a new trial.

       Schwalb spent nine years working with Racine at Venable and said that if he were elected attorney general, he would seek to use a data-driven approach to bolster initiatives developed by his former colleague. He pointed to two recent announcements from Racine’s office: a slew of zoning proposals to push for more housing affordability and an expansion of the “Cure the Streets” violence interruption program.

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       Schwalb also cited Racine’s focus on juvenile justice, tenant and consumer protection, wage theft and elderly protection.

       “Right now, the inequity in our city is one that the law is uniquely capable of addressing. That’s what I’d do every day,” Schwalb said. “We can’t backslide on the progress Karl and his office have made; the new leader of that office needs to keep that momentum going.”

       Schwalb noted his own experience leading a firm of hundreds of staffers at Venable, as well as his experience training, hiring and recruiting top attorneys. He has received an endorsement from Irv Nathan, who served as the last appointed attorney general in D.C. before it became an elected position. Nathan encouraged Racine to run in the 2014 election and said in a statement that he’s endorsing Schwalb because of his breadth of legal skills and experience leading a large Washington law firm.

       Schwalb is one of four candidates in the attorney general’s race so far, and he said he will use the city’s public financing program to fundraise for his campaign. He joins D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), local lawyer Ryan Jones and longtime lawyer Bruce V. Spiva.