Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office paid nearly $1.3 million to two outside law firms that also contributed to his campaign committee, according to records obtained by The Center Square. The contracts predated Brown’s administration, while most payments occurred after he took office in January 2023, Baltimore Chronicle reports.
The Center Square investigation identified Ballard Spahr LLP and Saul Ewing LLP as the two firms. Maryland’s official campaign finance database provides public access to committee contribution records.
Law firms received nearly $1.3 million
Ballard Spahr received about $985,000 for legal work under contracts covering January 2023 through 2026. Saul Ewing received approximately $302,000 during the same period.
The Center Square said its figures came from billing records supplied by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. The request covered outside counsel payments through May 20, 2026.
Both firms already held contracts with the office before Brown became attorney general on January 3, 2023.
| Law firm | Reported payments | Campaign contributions cited |
|---|---|---|
| Ballard Spahr LLP | $985,000 | $5,000 |
| Saul Ewing LLP | $302,000 | $12,000 to Brown committee |
Ballard Spahr contributed $2,500 shortly before the 2022 election and another $2,500 in January 2025. Saul Ewing contributed $6,000 before the 2022 Democratic primary and another $6,000 in November 2023.
Saul Ewing also gave $6,000 to Katie Curran O’Malley, Brown’s opponent in the 2022 Democratic primary.
Brown’s office says firms were selected earlier
Jennifer Donelan, a spokeswoman for Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General, told The Center Square that Brown’s administration did not select either firm.
She said both were chosen through a competitive process conducted by the previous administration. That distinction is significant because the payments alone do not establish that campaign contributions influenced contracting decisions.
According to the investigation, at least 5 firms with contracts from the attorney general’s office contributed to Brown’s campaign or through political action committees.
Those firms included:
- Ballard Spahr
- Saul Ewing
- Venable LLP
- Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll
- Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP
The Center Square reported combined contributions of $30,250 from those firms.
Outside attorneys charged up to $675 an hour
Billing records reviewed by the publication also showed substantial hourly rates.
Charles O. Monk II of Saul Ewing was reportedly billed at $675 an hour for 11.5 hours in January 2023. Two Saul Ewing partners were billed at $509 an hour, while associates received $283 an hour.
Ballard Spahr attorneys generally billed between $515 and $545 an hour for work involving the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, told The Center Square that campaign donations from firms doing business with attorneys general can create concerns about political influence.
The reporting does not establish that Brown directed contracts to donors. His office maintains that the two firms were selected before his administration began.
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