Darby N. DuComb

Darby DuComb brings 30 years of experience as a municipal lawyer, litigator, and trusted advisor to government agencies, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on real property, land use, transportation law, governance, ethics, infrastructure, public works construction, contracts, and organizational development. She joins Inslee, Best, Doezie & Ryder after serving as Legal Affairs Manager for the Seattle Department of Transportation, where she built and led compliance programs for claims, investigations, risk management, and Public Records Act obligations — work that saved the City of Seattle $15 million through improved investigation techniques and earned her the 2024 Transportation Equity Stewardship Superstar Award.

Darby's extensive public-sector leadership includes seven years as Chief of Staff and Deputy City Attorney for the City of Seattle, where she managed a 160-person legal office serving a $5 billion municipal corporation. She led the 12-attorney team that negotiated the City's agreements with WSDOT for the landmark SR 99 tunnel project, played a key role in settling the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights consent decree with the Seattle Police Department, and spearheaded a successful state legislative effort to decriminalize Driving While License Suspended in the Third Degree — leadership recognized with the City's Race and Social Justice Excellence in Management Award.

In private practice, Darby has counseled municipalities, special purpose districts, and property owners on transportation, land use, real property, contracts, franchises, interlocal agreements, construction disputes, and risk management matters. She served as lead counsel for the Seaplanes Environmental Coalition in complex, multi-stakeholder negotiations over emerging technology use on public waterways, and secured regulatory approval for the Northlake Bioswale Project, advancing clean stormwater infrastructure in Seattle.

Earlier in her career, Darby litigated land use, environmental, and code enforcement cases for the City of Seattle and represented more than 70 criminal defendants on appeal, including three arguments before the Washington State Supreme Court. A trained neutral through the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and the University of Washington School of Law, Darby brings a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach to every matter she handles.