Brian Bloom spent 27 years as a criminal defense lawyer, working in the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender. He represented defendants in all manner of criminal cases, from misdemeanors to complex capital litigation, specializing in the intersection between the criminal-legal system and mental illness. Over the course of his career, Brian ran the Training Department, the Mental Health Unit, and the Felony Trial Staff of the Public Defenders’ Office. Since retiring as an Assistant Public Defender in 2021, Brian has been the Chair of the Mental Health Advisory Board of Alameda County and has been a leader in various local advocacy efforts aimed at decriminalizing mental illness. Brian spends much of his free time playing guitar and singing in the Bob Dylan tribute band, Rolling Thunder.

Prior to his legal career, Brian taught High School Social Studies in San Mateo, California. Brian received his B.A. in Politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he graduated with Honors; he received his M.A. in Education from Stanford University; and he received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was Order of the Coif. Before joining the Public Defenders Officer, Brian clerked for the Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel of the Northern District of California.