LOS ANGELES — The State Bar of California, under scrutiny for long-standing failures in protecting the public from Tom Girardi and other unscrupulous lawyers, this week gave its executive director a raise of nearly $43,000.
The pay hike brought Leah H. Wilson’s annual salary to $344,000, an amount that dwarfs the salaries of Gov. Gavin Newsom ($218,556) and other prominent government officials overseeing larger organizations, including the state attorney general ($189,841) and California’s recently named chief justice ($293,286).
The 14% bump for Wilson was triggered by the hiring this month of another highly compensated official at the public agency, General Counsel Ellin Davtyan, at a salary of $328,000. The terms of Wilson’s contract provide for her to make at least 5% more than her most-well-paid colleague, forcing the bar Monday to increase her pay as executive director by $42,737.
