Allegheny County, Pennsylvania / Public Defender
Agency file
The Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.
In 2025, this agency had 176 employees with median total compensation of $66,610; the highest distinct record was $119,612.
What the records show
These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.
How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 176 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($66,610) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.
What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.
The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $90,199 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $13,717. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).
The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.
Trend
How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.
| Year | Total payroll | Employees | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $8.8M — | 160 — | $64,231 — |
| 2024 | $9.3M ▲ 5.0% | 161 ▲ 0.6% | $66,875 ▲ 4.1% |
| 2025 | $9.9M ▲ 6.5% | 176 ▲ 9.3% | $66,610 ▼ 0.4% |
Record list
Page 1
Managing Attorney/Public Defender
Source-specific fields
Terrence P Hanna holds the role of Managing Attorney at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 8/24/2015. In 2025, their total compensation was $90,868.
Trial Defender 2/Public Defender
Source-specific fields
Heath E. Leff works as a Trial Defender 2 for Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 6/9/2008. Heath earned $90,199 in 2025.
Trial Defender/Public Defender
Source-specific fields
Leslie Perlow Grossman holds the role of Trial Defender at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 2/23/1987. In 2025, their total compensation was $89,637.
Director/Public Defender
Source-specific fields
Lena M Henderson is a Director at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 11/25/1991. 2025 total compensation came to $89,110.
Manager-Pretrial/Public Defender
Source-specific fields
Melissa Leech is a Manager-Pretrial at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 10/26/2015. 2025 total compensation came to $88,068.
Trial Defender 2/Public Defender
Source-specific fields
At Public Defender, Anthony J Borrero serves as a Trial Defender 2. Records show a hire date of 9/30/2002. Their 2025 pay totaled $87,437.