From 2001 to 2007, Brown served as a member of the California Public Utilities Commission.
Brown received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964, and graduated from San Francisco Law School in 1970.
Brown was admitted to the bar in January 1971 and practiced with his father until joining the San Francisco Public Defender's Office in October 1971.
During Brown's tenure, the Public Defender's Office grew to a staff of 83 attorneys and 40 support personnel.
[4] Brown was appointed by Governor Gray Davis in January 2001 as a Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission and confirmed in March by the State Senate.