Office of the City Solicitor

Craig M. Straw

Chief Deputy City Solicitor

Civil Rights Unit

Chief Deputy City Solicitor Craig M. Straw received his undergraduate and law degrees from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He earned his law degree while working for a City Council member, who currently serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate. After graduating from law school, Craig worked for seven years as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Pittsburgh.  During his tenure with the City of Pittsburgh Law Department, he primarily handled civil rights litigation involving the City of Pittsburgh Police Department. 

Upon moving to Philadelphia in 2003, he worked for a trial litigation firm defending local municipalities in police and prison cases.  In 2006, he joined the Civil Rights Unit of the City of Philadelphia Law Department as a Deputy City Solicitor.  Shortly after joining the Civil Rights Unit, he was named Divisional Deputy City Solicitor. 

The Civil Rights Unit defends all lawsuits filed against the City and it's employees in which it is alleged that an individual's constitutionally-protected rights have been violated.  Most of these cases are filed in federal court under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C 1983.  Many of the cases involve Fourth Amendment claims brought against the Philadelphia Police Department, and Eighth Amendment claims asserted against the Philadelphia Prison System.  The Civil Rights Unit also represents the Department of Human Services when constitutional violations are alleged to arise out of DHS' child welfare cases.  

The Civil Rights Unit provides legal advice to City Departments on  issues with potential civil rights implications, and counsels City Departments on policy issues.  The CRU also consults with City Departments on employee training issues to ensure that City personnel in all departments are aware of the constitutional limits of their authority.

All CRU attorneys have active trial case loads, and are given substantial responsibility at an early stage.  All attorneys handle their own cases from the filing of a complaint until jury verdict, to have the opportunity to develop a theory of the case, build a factual record to support the theory, and present their case to a jury.  The Civil Rights Unit attorneys are: 

Margaret Fenerty

Senior Attorney

George Mason University School of Law, 1983

Suzanne Reilly

Senior Attorney

Temple University School of Law, 1976

Matthew Kevin Hubbard

Deputy City Solicitor

The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law,

Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina; graduated 1985

Niya Blackwell

Deputy City Solicitor

New England School of Law, 1996

Jeffrey Simons

Assistant City Solicitor

Northwestern University School of Law, 2004

Armando Brigandi

Assistant City Solicitor

Villanova Law School, 2001

Mark V. Maguire

Assistant City Solicitor

Temple Law School, 2004

Nicole Morris

Assistant City Solicitor

Temple Law School, 2001

Genelle Franklin

Assistant City Solicitor

Penn State Dickinson School of Law, 2007

Chair, Litigation Group

Civil Rights

Labor & Employment

General Litigation

Housing & Code Enforcement

Chief Counsel for Public Safety