"We're a little different than other government law departments in that we have no entry-level positions," she said. "The least experienced person [in her office] has 10 years' experience. The most experienced, including myself, have 30 or more years of experience. Whereas, with the D.A.'s Office and the City Solicitor's Office, they have people right out of law school.
"It would not be possible for someone without a substantial amount of legal experience to practice in this office," she added.
Despite its experience, Swirsky's staff still relies heavily on the work of outside law firms. Those firms will be paid $2.89 million this year, and the same amount is budgeted for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
A spot check found that Philadelphia's school attorneys cost taxpayers more than attorneys in other cities.
The Houston Independent School District, for example, has a student enrollment of 199,500, compared with Philadelphia's 167,000 students in traditional schools and 30,000 others in charter schools.
Houston's Legal Services office employs just five attorneys who are paid from a budget of $908,905, according to information provided by that school district.
General Counsel Elneita Hutchins-Taylor is paid $168,264.10. In a separate and smaller office, Financial Management Attorney Donald Boehm makes $136,151.46.
In Chicago, which has 408,600 students, 44 attorneys work in the school district's Law Department. General Counsel Patrick Rocks makes $153,000, while the average salary of his attorneys is $91,180, said Michael P. Vaughn, a Chicago schools spokesman.
"I probably would venture to guess that the Chicago general counsel does not have the number of years of experience or the breadth and sophistication of experience that I have," said Swirsky, when told of Rocks' salary. *
