SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The newest city lawyer hired by Mayor Stephanie Miner's administration is Meghan E. Ryan, the 27-year-old daughter of Miner's chief of staff, Bill Ryan.

The younger Ryan, who was admitted to the bar in June, was hired in November as an assistant corporation counsel at a salary of $50,000, said Mary Anne Doherty, corporation counsel.

Ryan is the fourth city lawyer hired by Miner who is the child of a current or former city hall employee. Ryan's job was not advertised and no other candidates were considered, Doherty said.

Ryan started work last March as an $8-per-hour clerk in the corporation counsel's office while awaiting the result of her bar examination, which she ultimately passed. She worked on housing court cases, Doherty said.

In July, after Ryan became a practicing attorney, she worked as a part-time lawyer for the city and took on the housing court duties of an assistant corporation counsel who left that month for maternity leave.

"She stepped up to the plate, stepped right in and worked pretty hard,'' Doherty said. "She was a relatively new, young attorney, but she did a really good job.''

When a full-time position opened up last month, Doherty offered it to Ryan. Doherty said she did not advertise the job or interview other candidates because she was pleased with Ryan's performance to that point and because Ryan was already familiar with housing court cases.

According to Ryan's profile on LinkedIn, she graduated in 2012 from Vermont Law School. She obtained her bachelor's degree in 2008 from St. John Fisher College.

Doherty said it's not unusual for the city law department to hire inexperienced attorneys.

"Because of the salary that we can typically pay, for most of the attorneys it is a starting position,'' she said. "But sometimes we hire people with more experience.''



Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 315-470-3023 or on Twitter @TimKnauss.

