About Erika

Erika J. Evans is the first African American and person of color to serve as Seattle City Attorney. She brings to the office extensive legal experience, a longstanding commitment to public service, and deep roots in community-centered justice and leadership.

Erika is a pacific northwest native, raised in a family grounded in service and civil rights. Her grandparents, including a grandmother who helped organize human rights demonstrations at the 1968 Olympic Games and her grandfather, Olympic gold track and field medalist Lee Evans, shaped her early understanding of justice, courage, and the importance of standing up for communities.

Growing up in a working-class household, she saw firsthand how access to opportunity and fairness in the legal system can shape people’s lives.

She is a graduate of the University of Washington and earned her law degree from Seattle University School of Law. Erika has since served in a range of legal and judicial roles at the local and federal level. Her career began in the Seattle City Attorney’s Office as an Assistant City Prosecutor and later an Assistant City Attorney. She then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Department of Justice in the Terrorism and Violent Crimes Unit and as the office’s Civil Rights Coordinator until March 2025. She resigned following antithetical changes in federal policy. Erika has also served as a pro tem municipal court judge in three jurisdictions throughout Washington State. 

In addition to her legal practice, Erika is a past president of the Loren Miller Bar Association, one of the nation’s oldest and largest minority bar associations, where she focused on mentorship and advancing equity within the legal profession. She is a co-chair of the Washington Leadership Institute, a program aimed at supporting the development of emerging leaders. Erika is the recipient of many awards including the Seattle University School of Law Black Law Student’s Association Alumni of the Year Award and was honored by the Puget Sound Business Journal as a “40 Under 40” honoree.

As City Attorney, Erika Evans is committed to strengthening public trust in the legal system, advancing community-centered approaches to public safety, fighting back with urgency and courage against unlawful acts that threaten the values here in Seattle, and in ensuring that the City Attorney’s Office serves the people of Seattle with integrity, compassion, and effectiveness.