Native Washingtonian · Judge · Community Builder

Judge Dave
Larson

Retired Federal Way Municipal Court Judge. Trial lawyer for 23 years. Father, grandfather — and a man who has spent his entire career showing up for the people and communities of Washington State.

Judge Dave Larson speaking at a Federal Way recovery conference
About Dave

A Life Built Around Washington's People

Born in Tacoma and raised on values that were earned, never handed to him — fairness, hard work, humility, and genuine care for the people around him — Dave has spent more than four decades understanding something that doesn't show up in legal briefs: the law doesn't exist in isolation.

It exists inside families, schools, neighborhoods, communities, and the individual dignity each person should expect in their life. After more than 4 decades practicing law from every angle, Dave still talks about his work the way someone does when it was never just a job — because for him it never was.

"It is more important to do right than it is to be right."
— One of two principles that have guided Dave's entire career on the bench
Dave's Story

Early Life & Family

Judge Dave Larson is a native Washingtonian. He was born in Tacoma as the second child of Joe and Donna Larson. Joe was a mechanic for Northwest Airlines and Donna was a homemaker, and together they raised Dave to embody the values they held themselves — kindness, fairness, resilience, and so much more.

His dad's job transferred the family to Minnesota in 1962, where they briefly lived before moving back to Washington in 1967. Washington was always home.

There is nothing in this world Dave loves more than his family, as evidenced by a column he wrote reflecting on his family and the upbringing he had — adversities and all.

Joe and Donna Larson at their wedding
Dave Larson as a baby

He has been known to find small ways to honor his family — from the day-to-day decisions he makes to the keepsakes he keeps in his office. His favorite piece of office décor is his dad's lunch pail; he keeps it close to stay grounded and to remember the values his father raised him to embody.

The Larson family gathered around a table
Joe Larson's lunch pail, which Dave keeps in his office

Honoring Kathryn

Dave has two brothers. He also had a sister who died during birth while the family was living in Minnesota. It was incredibly hard on Dave and his family, and as a way of honoring her, he visits her gravesite each time he is in Minneapolis.

In the early years of those visits, he was troubled that she was nameless on her tombstone. So he wrote something that would give her an identity and posted it at her gravesite during one of his visits. The Veterans Administration left the sign up for two years, and ultimately added her name to their records in response to it.

Kathryn Larson's gravestone
Handwritten tribute titled “My Name is Kathryn Larson”
Veterans Administration memorial record including Kathryn Larson
Family Today

Judge Larson has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren. One son is a police officer, and the other is a physician. Everything he does is not just for them — but for all of us, and all of our children and grandchildren.

Education Earned the Hard Way

A strong work ethic was deeply instilled in Dave by his father. He worked a long list of jobs while attending college at the University of Puget Sound — washing dishes, delivering pizza, driving a galley truck, working as airport security, and serving as a process server for the Office of Support Enforcement.

He then worked full-time and went to law school at night. During his first year of law school he had the privilege of working in the Pierce County Prosecutor's Misdemeanor Division, and in his second year he transitioned to the Civil Division. In his third year he moved to a private law firm specializing in civil and government liability cases, where he stayed until he became a lawyer.

A Distinguished Career as a Lawyer & Judge

After graduating from law school, Dave hit the ground running as a trial lawyer — trying his first case a month after he became a lawyer. Throughout his long legal career he served in many roles: in-house trial counsel, private firm practice, owner of his own law firm, and later Of Counsel for a large law firm just before becoming a judge.

Dave's abilities, dedication, and legal acumen led his peers to rate him a preeminent lawyer, and he earned a reputation as one of the most upstanding members of the legal community in our state.

In early 2008, the Federal Way court system was in trouble, and the city looked to Dave to help fix it. While he was serving as School Board President, they asked him to take the bench as a Federal Way Municipal Court Judge. He didn't hesitate. Not only did the role become one of the most fulfilling opportunities of his career, it paid off for the City of Federal Way too — Dave instituted much-needed change, bringing years of legal expertise and a steady commitment to upholding the law.

He was reelected to the position four times by voters, and in 2022 the community named him Best City Leader — an award reflective of his years of dedication to the people he serves.

Judge Dave Larson (ret.) at the bench
Kiro News · 1996
Dave Larson Helped Save the Seahawks
Before he was a judge, Dave was a citizen who cared deeply about his community. In 1996, he played a role in the effort to keep the Seattle Seahawks in Washington — a moment that Kiro News covered and that tells you a lot about who Dave is: someone who shows up, does the work, and doesn't need credit for it.

An Award-Winning Role in Education

Judge Larson's long-term involvement with public legal education was recognized with the Washington Judges' Foundation Judge William Nevins Award in 2014. This award is given to judges with a long-term commitment to youth education and public understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary in American society. He was also recognized as a "Hero" of Federal Way Public Schools in 2018 and again in 2022 for his commitment to public education. He served for years on the Board and Executive Committee of the Civic Learning Council, a statewide group promoting civics education.

Why is he a hero of public education?

Before becoming a judge, Dave was President of the Federal Way School Board, where he was a champion of properly funding public education. He conceptualized Federal Way's Fair Funding lawsuit in 2006 that would have permanently fixed our broken education funding system. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court took the path of forcing the legislature to simply add more money to schools without fixing the structural issues Dave recognized as the problem. Ironically, education funding advocates are now using Dave's arguments 20 years later to explain why McCleary did not fix our state's education funding issues.

  • Commitment to Civics Education — he helped teach Street Law at Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way from 2009 until his retirement in 2025. He also frequently appeared in classrooms at all grade levels throughout the South Puget Sound. High school students from around the state came to Federal Way to learn from him. He even hosted students visiting from Japan and Korea.
  • Commitment to a New Generation of Attorneys — he was the founder and convener of the former South King County YMCA District High School Mock Trial Competition that let students experience what it is like to be a trial lawyer. The competition ultimately outgrew the courthouse.
  • Commitment to Teaching Freedom Through Art — he partnered with the City's Arts Commission and the Federal Way School District for a student art contest that has been in place since 2009 with the theme, "Liberty and Justice for All" and "What Does Freedom Mean to Me?"
  • Commitment to the Trades for High School Students — he served on the Federal Way School District Career and Technical Education Business Advisory Board to help promote careers in the trades and business. He sponsored two vocational technical scholarships through the Kiwanis Foundation he helped found to honor his parents and his in-laws who had worked in the trades.
  • Commitment to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) — Dave helped get FIRST Robotics into three Federal Way high schools. The Federal Way RoboEagles were in jeopardy of losing their grant because they could not find a coach. Dave stepped up as the coach and did what most could not do; he took a rookie team to a berth in the FIRST Robotics world championships in St. Louis to compete against 400 teams from around the world. They finished in the top 25%.
  • Commitment to Liberty and Justice For All — Dave created and delivers "How Freedom Works" throughout the state. How Freedom Works teaches attendees about the fundamentals that make freedom possible and it answers the question about why we are politically dysfunctional today. It is based on his two rules: love the freedom of others as much or more than your own, and that it is more important to do right than it is to be right.

A Lifetime of Civic Involvement

A justice who has never stood in the places the law actually lands is deciding about a world they understand only from above. Dave has stood in those places for decades — as President of the Federal Way School Board, on the City's Human Services Commission, and as the very first chair of the City's Board of Ethics in 1991. Federal Way Mirror readers named him Best City Leader in 2022.

  • Kiwanis Club of Federal Way — a longtime member recognized with a Hixson Fellowship, Zeller Fellowship, Everyday Hero Award, Kiwanian of the Year Award, Distinguished Past President Award, and Doug Benton Award. He was a founding board member of the Kiwanis Foundation of Federal Way and received the Kiwanis Pacific Northwest District Everyday Hero Award in 1998.
  • Aktion Club of Federal Way — founded by Dave in 2011, a Kiwanis-based service club for adults with developmental disabilities.
  • Advancing Leadership — taught leadership skills to youth and adults and served on its Board.
  • Puget Sound Honor Flight — serves as a guardian, escorting veterans on trips to Washington, D.C. He is paired with veterans who do not have someone to go with them. Without Dave many veterans would not be able to be honored with the trip.
  • Civil Air Patrol (United States Air Force Auxiliary) — Judge Larson (aka Major Larson) was Commander of the McChord AFB Composite Squadron from 2004–2008. He also served as the Washington Wing's Deputy Director of Homeland Security, Emergency Services Director (Air Search and Rescue / Disaster Relief), Assistant Wing Legal Officer, and taught other legal officers at the National Legal Officer's College. He received a National Commander's Commendation from CAP Headquarters at Maxwell AFB in Alabama for his work as Wing Emergency Services Director. The Washington Wing includes all of Washington State and parts of Idaho and Oregon.
Judge Dave Larson — civic involvement
See Dave's Full Record

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