The State Worker: Column extra: More about state attorneys

The State Worker

Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers

June 18, 2009

Column extra: More about state attorneys

Today's TSW column, which you can access by clicking here, looks the career of former state prosecutor Patrick Whalen and how his experience tells a larger story about pay disparities among law professionals in California's public sector.

The column makes reference to several court cases, including a recent decision in the long-running batte over pay parity between California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE) and the Schwarzenegger administration. If you'd like to look more closely at the court's May 28 ruling against the union,click here.

This link will take you to the most recent blog post about the State Compensation Insurance Fund furlough lawsuit that Whalen won on behalf of CASE. The post includes a link to San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter Busch's final judgment in favor of the union and the Schwarzenegger administration's Notice of Appeal.

You can view a 2007 state survey of attorneys' total compensation by clicking this link. PDF page 8 shows a state attorney's entry-level median pay at 52 percent below the Bay Area's median. In other parts of the state, the spread is less. In Central California, entry-level state attorneys earned 6 percent more than the median.

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