Massachusetts spending in 2004 hard to estimate for outside counsel

Massachusetts had no idea how much it was likely to spend on outside counsel during its fiscal year that ended June 30, 2004. The governor’s chief legal counsel, Daniel Winslow, had seen estimates that ranged from $6 million to $20 million.

Meanwhile, according to the Boston Bus. J., May 23, 2003 (Sheri Qualters), Winslow said that the state “spends about $45 million per year on its staff of 647 full-time and 20 contract lawyers scattered throughout the state’s operations.” Really? $70,000 per full-time lawyer? And that figure covers paralegals and secretaries? I doubt it.

Note also the enormous size of the state’s legal department (See my post of Nov. 5, 2005 on legally well-endowed government agencies.).