Criminal Defense Practice Staff Attorney, Lateral

Overview

The Bronx Defenders – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks a passionate, experienced attorney with a commitment to public defense to join our Criminal Defense Practice. Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences. Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders, run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders throughout the country on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

The Criminal Defense Practice

The Criminal Defense Practice (CDP) at The Bronx Defenders consists of over 150 attorneys, investigators, social workers, practice associates, and administrators who provide comprehensive criminal defense representation to people in the Bronx facing police and criminal legal system involvement. Through a client-centered approach, our CDP legal teams strive to gain a deeper understanding of the circumstances and priorities of the people we represent.

• Engage in intensive client interviewing, counseling, research, writing, oral advocacy and negotiations as part of legal representation.
• Zealously advocate for individuals charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses in Bronx Criminal Court from the time of arraignment through disposition or trial, as well as concurrent proceedings such as Department of Motor Vehicle hearings.
• Provide comprehensive, team-based representation collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of attorneys and advocates to avoid or mitigate any further legal system involvement or civil consequences that may arise out of contact with the criminal legal system.
• Effectively litigate, negotiate, and skillfully advocate for the people we represent with judges, prosecutors, and other actors within the systems our clients are navigating.
• Regularly work arraignment shifts, including on nights and weekends.
• Assist colleagues with representation of clients.
• Co-counsel cases in other venues such as Family Court, Civil Court and Administrative Hearings as necessary and desired.
• Participate in holistic advocacy within the practice and in the office.
• Participate in internal working groups to develop best practices across referral relationships.
• Participate in trainings within the office as well as, on occasion, external community events, conferences, and webinars in which BXD is participating or presenting.

Qualifications

To be eligible, candidates must have:

• At least 3 years of experience in Criminal Law.
• Membership in good standing or eligibility for prompt admission to the New York Bar. Applicants must demonstrate commitment to directly defending people charged with criminal offenses in the Bronx community, as well as commitment to challenging systemic injustice and carceral systems.
• Experience working in and with racially and socioeconomically marginalized communities.
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate, and connect with people from various backgrounds, identities, and experiences.
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers in our criminal, immigration, civil and family defense practices.
• Commitment to fierce advocacy, and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of the people we represent.
• Effective…