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Office of the County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel
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Mary Hanna-Weir ( She/Her/Hers )

Lead Deputy County Counsel

Overview

Mary Hanna-Weir joined the Office of the County Counsel in 2018 and was appointed Lead Deputy County Counsel in 2024.  Mary leads the Office’s Legislative Affairs Team, working closely with the County’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations to support legislative advocacy in California and at the federal level.  As a member of the Finance, Government Operations, and Technology Team and the Education Law Team, Mary has advised the Registrar of Voters, the Office of Children and Families Policy, several components of the Division of Equity and Social Justice, the Clerk of the Board, several boards and commissions including the Child Abuse Prevention Council and Human Rights Commission, and provided legal support to local school districts.  Mary also provides advice on matters related to civil rights, planning, conflicts of interest, and constitutional issues, among other matters.

Prior to joining the Office, Mary developed civil rights policy guidance and regulations for the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Focusing on race and national origin discrimination, Mary’s primary substantive areas of work were school desegregation, harassment and free speech, religious minorities, immigration and undocumented students, and students of color in special education. She also advised on high-profile enforcement and litigation matters as well as coordinated annual pre-award civil rights compliance reviews of school districts receiving grants under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program.  Mary’s professional expertise includes civil rights and nondiscrimination, voting rights and election law, First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion clauses), education law, and administrative law. 

Office practice areas
  • Conflicts and Political Reform Act Team 
  • Finance, Government Operations, and Technology Team 
  • Legislative Affairs Team
​​Education
  • University of Michigan Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2009 
    • Order of the Coif 
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, M.S. Sociology, 2006 
    • University Fellow  
  • Kenyon College, A.B. Chemistry and Sociology, summa cum laude, 2003 
    • Phi Beta Kappa 
Professional associations
  • Board Member of the American Constitution Society, Bay Area Lawyer Chapter (2016-present; Chair, 2021-present) 
Prior experience 
  • Attorney at U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Program Legal Group (2010-2018) 
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Eric L. Clay, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2009-2010) 
  • Law Clerk at Michigan Innocence Clinic (2009)