City and County of San Francisco / Public Defender

Agency file

Public Defender

Source file: City and County of San Francisco — Employee Compensation / ingested Jun 17, 2026

The Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.

In 2025, this agency had 250 employees with median total compensation of $202,487; the highest distinct record was $403,576.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $54.7M
Employees: 250
Median total: $202,487
Highest record: $403,576

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$3,436$377,856+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($202,487) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $163,313 (75%)
Overtime — $166 (0%)
Other — $1,352 (1%)
Benefits — $53,842 (25%)

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.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$119,216

$151,643

$202,487

$282,409

$348,663

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $348,663 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $119,216. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)

108 · $262,504

Legal Assistant

35 · $153,177

Senior Public Defenders Invstgtor

16 · $198,123

Head Attorney Civil & Criminal

15 · $365,930

Court Alternative Specialist 1

13 · $138,963

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

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$52M —	252 —	$199,423 —
2025	$54.7M ▲ 5.1%	250 ▼ 0.8%	$202,487 ▲ 1.5%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Office of Public Utility Counsel Texas80% match
Office of Administrative Law California75% match
City Attorney City and County of San Francisco74% match
District Attorney Allegheny County, Pennsylvania66% match
Public Defender Council, Georgia Georgia65% match
Attorney General's Office South Carolina62% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Erin Morgan

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$294,759

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $226,080
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $68,679
Total compensation: $294,759
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $21,941
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,595

Erin Morgan holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt. In 2025, their total compensation was $294,759. Their bargaining unit is Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Seiya Johnson

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$292,652

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $224,197
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $68,455
Total compensation: $292,652
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $21,941
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,637

Seiya Johnson holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt. In 2025, their total compensation was $292,652. Union affiliation: Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Eric Fleischaker

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$289,628

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $221,587
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $68,041
Total compensation: $289,628
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $21,941
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,590

Eric Fleischaker holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt. In 2025, their total compensation was $289,628. Union affiliation: Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

William Helvestine

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$288,807

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $220,873
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $67,934
Total compensation: $288,807
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $21,941
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,582

William Helvestine holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt. In 2025, their total compensation was $288,807. They are represented by Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Sylvia Nguyen

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$286,853

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $219,243
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $67,610
Total compensation: $286,853
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $21,941
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,493

Sylvia Nguyen is a Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. They work permanent exempt. 2025 total compensation came to $286,853. Union affiliation: Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Crystal Carpino

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$286,630

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $186,997
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $40,113
Benefits: $59,520
Total compensation: $286,630
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.83

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $18,144
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,713

Crystal Carpino holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt, 0.83 FTE. In 2025, their total compensation was $286,630. They are represented by Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Sierra Villaran

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$284,543

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $217,281
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $67,263
Total compensation: $284,543
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $21,941
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $14,435

Sierra Villaran holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt. In 2025, their total compensation was $284,543. They are represented by Municipal Attorneys Assoc.