Distinguished attorney’s unique legal and operational expertise will be critical to helping lead nationally-recognized, award-winning municipal law office
SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 16, 2015)—City Attorney Dennis Herrera today announced the recent addition of Moira Walsh as the Managing Attorney of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where she will be responsible for overall resource allocation and service delivery for civil law matters for the Mayor and Board of Supervisors and the nearly 100 departments, commissions and offices that comprise the City and County of San Francisco’s municipal government. Walsh’s role—one of three executive spots in the office that reports directly to the City Attorney—includes oversight of office operations, including finance, human resources, information technology, communications, and strategic alliances with law school programs, other public law offices and legal services organizations. Other members of Herrera’s Executive Team are Chief Assistant Jesse Smith and Chief Deputy Ron Flynn.
The City Attorney’s Office’s Managing Attorney is also charged with administering one of the most complex departmental budgets in local government. With only about 15 percent of the office’s current $76.2 million annual budget supported by the city’s general fund, the rest derives from interdepartmental recoveries for City Attorney services that are allocated to nearly fifty separate funds, spanning an array of client and departmental functions.
“I am thrilled to have a distinguished attorney of Moira Walsh’s caliber and experience join our office as the Managing Attorney,” said Herrera. “This role is critical in the operation of our office and am confident that with Moira’s experience in the legal and non-profit sectors, she will be an extremely valuable resource in our office as we continually strive to better serve the people of San Francisco.”
Previously, Walsh was the Special Projects consultant and for ten years the Chief Operating Officer and Associate Executive Director of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, a cutting edge Bay Area public charity focused on alleviating poverty through high-impact creative grants. In her role, Walsh managed all foundation operations, with oversight over all outside professionals, donor relations and development, communications, staff, marketing and grant makings systems. The foundation specializes in local grassroots grant making but its work extends throughout the United States and internationally as well.
“It is an incredible opportunity to join the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and work with this team of highly skilled professionals,” said Walsh. “I’m grateful to City Attorney Herrera, and am excited to combine my legal experience with my community service for the benefit of San Francisco, the city where I was born and raised.”
Prior to working at Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, Walsh was a partner in the San Francisco law office of Carr, McClellan, Ingersoll, Thompson and Horn, practicing bankruptcy and creditor’s rights for 12 plus years, and a member of the firm’s Executive Team. Walsh is committed to the community she lives in, serving on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, the Thomas J. Long Foundation, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, and San Francisco Waldorf School. Walsh received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and J.D. from The National Law Center, George Washington University.
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office was hailed by American Lawyer magazine as “one of the most aggressive and talented city law departments in the nation” and honored by the American Bar Association for outstanding excellence in government law.
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