New York County Defender Services first opened our doors in 1997. Our original team of 13 attorneys banded together to provide people accused of crimes in Manhattan with the highest quality legal representation in the city.
Twenty-five years later, NYCDS is now one of the premier public defender offices in the nation. We have represented more than half a million clients in Manhattan's criminal courts and developed deep expertise in many criminal defense sub-specialties. Our team numbers more than 140 staff, including 70 attorneys. We pride ourselves on our commitment to training and continuing education with a particular emphasis on building and developing trial skills.
NYCDS clients benefit from a diverse defense team that includes experienced trial attorneys, social workers, highly skilled investigators, paralegals, IT professionals, and core staff. In recent years, we have expanded our ability to advocate for our clients outside of the criminal courtroom by adding corrections specialists, collateral consequences attorneys, re-entry specialists, a policy and community engagement unit, and a highly acclaimed data and research team. We also have dedicated trial attorney specialists who represent our clients in New York County’s problem solving courts: mental health, veterans’ treatment and integrated domestic violence.
We are committed to ensuring that our clients and their defense attorneys have the tools and resources they need to obtain the best possible outcome in every criminal case. Liberty and justice demand no less.