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Daniel Brown is a principal at Frey Buck with over 33 years of trial and litigation experience. He focuses his practice on litigation and dispute resolution, with an emphasis on creditor rights, financial institution litigation, real estate disputes, and general and complex commercial litigation. Dan has extensive experience as a trial lawyer and in all phases of state and federal civil litigation, including discovery, motion practice, trials/arbitrations, and appeals. He has independently handled, or significantly assisted in, more than 65 trials and arbitrations on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants; and litigated and settled hundreds of cases, including claims for product liability, premises and construction liability, class actions, violation of trade secrets, noncompete agreements, employment cases, copyright infringement, all manner of real estate disputes, credit and banking issues, and condemnation actions.
Dan has served as an arbitrator for the King County Superior Court for almost 30 years, has been a tribal judge for close to 20 years. He was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in 2010–2015, then again in 2024–2026, and Washington Super Lawyers for 2010–2025. He has and continues to be Martindale-Hubbell “AV” top-rated by his peers in the legal community.
Dan grew up and lived on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Eastern Washington. His family still lives there, where his father (and his father before him) was a cattle rancher and farmer. They did business in a time where contracts were made with handshakes, not notarized signatures and written agreements, and your word was your bond, and you never, ever, considered reneging on a deal. Though the world may no longer operate that way, it is how Dan chooses to conduct himself nonetheless. In his relationships with his clients, opposing counsel, and the bench, he holds himself—and them— to the highest standard of honor and integrity. It’s just how he was taught by his father.
It is in this spirit that Dan has served hundreds and hundreds of clients over the last 30-plus years, whether their issues are multimillion-dollar disputes or merely one “just for the principle of it.” It is in this spirit that he has tried and arbitrated many, many cases, and mediated and negotiated many, many more. He has represented big business, corporations, banks and financial institutions, highly compensated individuals, landowners, land buyers, land renters, individuals, and not-for-profit entities, both as defendants and plaintiffs. And it is in this spirit that he conducts his personal life, be it with his civic duties or traveling and enjoying his family life.
Dan’s wife, a descendant of the Yakama Nation herself, and he have raised their two children to revere the worth of a promise made and kept. He often finds himself echoing the words of his father to his own son and daughter, especially when one is blaming the other for something or starting the argument: “You are only as good as your word.” That is how Dan practices the law.
After 33 years of serving hundreds and hundreds of clients in their litigation and other business disputes, Dan’s job has been and continues to be helping his clients solve a specific problem presented. Sometimes that means simply negotiating a fair resolution. Sometimes it means fighting tooth and nail for the client’s best interests. He loves doing it all. He enjoys learning about his clients’ businesses and understanding the clients’ needs in both the dispute before him and the overall impact the dispute (or others like it) might have on the future of their business.
Dan believes clients get great value when they hire him to help them. There are plenty of great lawyers in this city, but in choosing legal representation, the lawyer needs to give the client everything he has in working the problems and getting the best resolution possible. That’s what he does, and he has built his legal reputation on these principles.
