His annual pay of up to $1 million from Dilworth was disclosed in his Feb. 6 indictment on charges of obstructing justice and misusing state and nonprofit funds. Fumo has said he is innocent, and is on a paid leave from Dilworth while he fights the charges.

The indictment touched on his rainmaking role, saying he had asked Verizon Communications to give "as much as $2.5 million of its legal business" to Dilworth as part of a deal in which Fumo would stop his drive to break up the company.

Verizon did not hire Dilworth, and Fumo was not charged in connection with that; prosecutors allege that destruction of records blocked them from learning if his dealings with Verizon amounted to extortion.

Jacovini, Dilworth's chairman, said he saw no problem with Fumo's dual role of senator and rainmaker. He acknowledged that the firm pays Fumo, in part, for landing government clients.

"Government work is in the mix of his compensation," Jacovini said. But he added, "The majority of his clients are people in the corporate world."

Jacovini declined to name clients Fumo had recruited, citing a legal ethicist's advice to Dilworth that such information is confidential.

Before he went on leave, Fumo was "of counsel" at Dilworth. Generally, lawyers "of counsel" are paid a salary; unlike partners, they don't share in firm profits.

Lawyers in both parties have gone on from Dilworth to high office, starting with founder Richardson Dilworth, who in 1947 became the first Democrat elected Philadelphia mayor in decades. Other former partners have included the late Gov. Bob Casey, U.S. District Judge Bruce W. Kauffman, and William T. Coleman, who served in President Gerald R. Ford's cabinet.

(Among Dilworth's clients is Philadelphia Media Holdings, owner of The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.)

Government officials who have hired Dilworth praise its work and note that it is listed in the elite "Red Book" of qualified bond lawyers. Some said Fumo played no role in getting Dilworth hired.

Jacovini described Fumo as a "very well-known, respected public figure, business executive, lawyer, government figure" who was often asked to recommend law firms. Asked if the senator had recommended Dilworth for government work, Jacovini replied, "Sure."

Jacovini declined to confirm the amount of Fumo's pay but said it was in tune with "market rates for those services." The firm said his pay is a fixed rate and not "calibrated" to specific clients Fumo recruits.

At $1 million, Fumo's pay puts him in the upper tier of local lawyers. A 2005 survey said only two Philadelphia firms, both much larger than Dilworth, paid partners an average of more than $1 million.

Fumo actually holds three jobs: legislator, lawyer and banker. As the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, he was paid $98,000 yearly; he took a pay cut when he stepped down from that post to fight the criminal charges.

He also heads a small banking company where his compensation was worth $874,000 in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available.

Fumo devotes most of his time to his Senate work, his chief lawyer has said in response to The Inquirer's previous questions about use of his state staff. In a Jan. 26 letter, Richard A. Sprague called Fumo "a tireless public servant" who, with his staff, works "24/7 at the job of being the most effective Senate office" in the state.

Still, Fumo has found time to seek clients for Dilworth.

Based on interviews and government records, here is a look at three state agencies that hired Sen. Fumo's firm.

The Commonwealth Financing Authority