Faculty Bios

Lecturing Faculty

Ken Chang graduated from the University of Washington Law School and started his career as a public defender in January of 1996. He worked in Seattle Municipal Court and Juvenile Court. After being disillusioned by the fact that our juvenile system did nothing to help kids, beginning in 1998, Ken went into private practice with Campiche Hepburn McCarty and Bianco. During this time, he was actively involved in civil plaintiffs’ litigation involving Maritime injuries, Premise Liability, Motor Vehicle accidents, Wage and Hour claims, and Products Liability. During this time he also volunteered at the King County Neighborhood Legal Clinic, as well as with the Korean American Bar Association’s Free Legal Clinic. Ken continues to be active in plaintiff’s personal injury practice and possesses a deep well of practical experience and knowledge. In December of 2003 Ken returned to public defense to work on District Court DUI cases, which he enjoyed immensely. After three years of DUI work, he handled serious felony cases before entering civil commitment practice with clients committed pursuant to RCW 71.09. He became the supervisor of his division in 2011. Ken has emphasized a practice of working with long-term clients to get them hearings and release plans that the clients themselves work toward. He inspired the division he came to supervise with his creative approaches and willingness to assist all staff in any way possible. Additionally, Ken has been awarded by the Washington Defender Association for his work and leadership. He gives presentations statewide and has also provided testimony and guidance in Washington state legislative hearings. When the public defender agency became subsumed within county government, he joined forces with his former colleagues to create this locally owned law firm to serve the community as a free agent. 

Brian Flaherty is a criminal defense attorney engaged in trial-level representation and post-conviction advocacy for clients serving long and life sentences. He spent 15 years with the King County Department of Public Defense and is pending confirmation to the Public Defense Advisory Board. 





Rachel Forde has been a lawyer at Snohomish County Public Defender Association for 20 years.  Rachel received the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President’s Award in 2023 given to recognize distinguished service to the highest traditions of the criminal defense bar. In 2007, she received Washington Defender Association President’s Award for outstanding work in the legal representation of the indigent.  Currently she is on the WACDL CLE Committee where she helps organize state-wide educational programs for criminal defense attorneys. She has served on the WACDL Board of Governors and the WDA Board of Directors, the WSBA Legislative Court Rules Committees, as well as the Washington State Legislature Eyewitness Evidence and Informant Reliability Work Groups. 
Rachel has presented at statewide programs on jury selection, cross examination of experts, litigating domestic violence no contact orders, and media strategy in high profile cases.  In addition to representing people accused of serious violent and sex offenses in Snohomish County and across the state, Rachel is on the panel of conflict attorneys for the U.S. District Court of Western Washington. Rachel earned her B.A. at DePauw University and her J.D. at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. 

Sonja Hardenbrook: After completing undergraduate at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), she got her Master’s degree in American History at New Mexico State University (NMSU). She then earned her law degree at the University of Washington (UW) and worked as a public defender at Snohomish County Public Defender Association from 2003 – 2021. Since 2012 she has worked in the 71.09 arena, representing clients civilly committed as SVPs.  She went into private practice in 2021, where she continues to do a full caseload of RCW 71.09 defense and as much policy work as she can fit in.  Sonja is a current member of the Sex Offender Policy Board (SOPB), the Washington Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (WATSA) board and is on her second appointment to the Sex Offender Treatment Provider (SOTP) Advisory Committee for the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA). She is a former longtime member of the Disability Rights Washington (DRW) Mental Health Advisory Committee (MHAC) and the DRW Board of Directors. She routinely works with worldwide experts on sex offense research and has collaborated with stakeholders and colleagues across the aisle to craft empirically based sex offense policy reform in Washington. Sonja lives in the Greenlake neighborhood of Seattle with her husband, two teens, and a naughty dog. She enjoys lifting, running, and baking the world a better place. 

Brad Meryhew is a retired criminal defense attorney living in Seattle with his husband and three dogs. He is focused now on his garden, some writing projects, and travel. Brad’s 30 year career has focused on representing persons accused of sexual misconduct in state and federal courts across Washington. Brad has been a member of the Washington Sex Offender Policy Board since it’s inception in 2008. He has been the Chair of the SOPB for the last six years. During that time Brad has successfully advocated for significant changes to the sex offender management system, including major changes to Washington’s requirements for sex offender registration. During his career Brad has presented at more than 80 continuing legal education seminars as well as seminars for continuing education for nurses and sex offender treatment providers. 


Amy Muth is a partner in the Seattle-based firm Muth Atwood PLLC and is a 2001 graduate of Ohio State University College of Law. She practiced as a public defender in Kitsap and King Counties for seven years prior to entering private practice. Her practice has focused on the defense of sexual misconduct cases for nearly twenty years, and guiding clients through psychosexual evaluations and using them to advocate for her clients comprises a substantial part of her practice. Amy is a past recipient of WACDL's and WDA's President's Awards, is a WACDL Past President, and has written several amicus briefs for WACDL, WDA, and ACLU-WA on sexual offending issues as well as participated in many legislative efforts to reform sex offense laws.