Staff Attorney, Criminal Defense (Felony Experience)

Office of the Appellate Defender; New York (NY); On-site; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid vacation

Short/long-term disability insurance

Life insurance

Job summary

The Legal Aid Society seeks experienced Criminal Defense Trial Attorneys to support the City’s public defender efforts across multiple Trial offices. You will advocate zealously from arraignments through hearings and trials, tackling serious felony work and collaborating with defense colleagues to shape litigation strategy.

Ideal candidates are NYS-admitted criminal defense attorneys committed to serving marginalized communities with client-centered advocacy and a strong, justice-oriented

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years demonstrated commitment to public defense and social justice.
• Experience handling felony matters in NYS or another jurisdiction.
• Strong oral and written advocacy and high level of organization to meet deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively with other defense professionals and staff.

Responsibilities

• Provide client-centered representation from arraignments through trial, disposition or dismissal.
• Conduct bail advocacy and interviews; coordinate with social services and referrals.
• Prepare cases for litigation, including investigating, researching law, and coordinating with experts.
• Conduct pretrial hearings, trials, and post-conviction proceedings as needed.
• File notices of appeal and coordinate with appellate counsel.

Skills

Oral Advocacy

Written Advocacy

Collaborative Practice

Plea Negotiations

Legal Research

Education

New York State Bar Admission

Job description

The Legal Aid Society, the nation's oldest and largest social justice legal services organization, has immediate openings for experienced trial attorneys in the Criminal Defense Practice Trial offices throughout the city. The Criminal Defense Practice is the primary public defender in New York City, providing holistic, client-centered vertical representation to over 200,000 people facing misdemeanor, felony, and homicide charges.

Criminal Defense Attorneys hired for these positions will provide zealous advocacy in all phases of a person's criminal legal matter from arraignments through hearings and trials or plea negotiations, as well as other related proceedings. Attorneys in these positions must have experience representing clients charged with serious felony matters. This includes first chairing hearing and trials, negotiating pleas, and working with paid experts.

The ideal candidate is an NYS admitted criminal defense attorney who demonstrates a commitment to serving marginalized people and communities, has extensive criminal defense litigation and advocacy experience, and who vigilantly elevates the value of client centered advocacy using a race, gender equity and social and economic justice lens. Attorneys will be team members that are committed to shaping the defense and litigation strategy in partnership with other defense professionals and will contribute to a collaborative culture.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide client-centered, comprehensive representation from arraignments through trial, disposition or dismissal
• Provide representation at arraignments including interviewing clients; connecting with family and others to aid in bail advocacy; connecting with supervised release, social workers and others to assist in addressing client needs and advocacy; presenting bail arguments and follow up with appropriate referrals
• Prepare cases for advocacy and litigation, including submitting referrals for investigation, referrals for social work services and/or community-based programming as needed, and gathering information and researching law for effective representation
• Conduct bail review hearings and writs of habeas corpus to secure client’s liberty post arraignments
• Coordinate with specialty units to assist in advocacy including DNA Unit, Digital Forensics, Decarceration, Immigration and others
• Consult and coordinate with supervising attorneys for case reviews
• Review discovery materials to challenge certificates of discovery compliance, contest statements of readiness, secure all disclosures under discovery law, and prepare for litigation
• Conduct any preliminary hearings, Crawford hearings, suppression hearings, and other pretrial hearings, and conduct trials
• Prepare mitigation materials to advocate for diversion courts in connection with community-based programs or to advocate for sentencing
• Advise and enter appropriate pleas in consultation and consent of clients addressing any collateral consequences of such plea
• File appropriate notices of appeal and coordinate with appellate counsel
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of at least 3 years of demonstrated commitment to public defense, racial equity, and social justice with experience handling felony matters here in NYS or in other jurisdictions at least 2 years of experience representing clients on felony matters
• Demonstrated litigation experience in pretrial suppression hearings and jury trials
• Track record of strategically guiding casework, projects and/or relationships, applying good judgement and routinely pushing through roadblocks to achieve your goals
• Ability to work in collaboratively and in community with other members of the office
• Clear and effective oral and written advocacy and experience and a high level of organization to meet multiple competing deadlines
• New York State bar admission (or ability to waive into New York State from another jurisdiction)

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $86,520 - $157,075

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.