About Us

The Federal Defenders of New York draws its roots from a small group of lawyers within the Legal Aid Society in the years before Federal Defender offices existed. In 1964 Congress passed the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) which required the provision of lawyers for people accused of crimes in federal court and established procedures for providing those lawyers. The CJA was amended by Congress several years later to allow individual federal districts to create federal public defender offices by establishing either a “Federal Defender Office,” in which the staff members would be federal employees with the head of the office selected by the judges, or a “Community Defender Office,” which could be an independent nonprofit organization. The Southern and Eastern Districts of New York opted for the Community Defender model, and the Legal Aid Society of New York expanded its already existing division exclusively devoted to serving clients accused of federal crimes. In 2005 the division separated from the Legal Aid Society and became an independent, non-profit corporation with its own Board of Directors. That is the model we maintain today.

We are proud of our independence from the Judiciary. Our Board of Directors largely consists of passionate federal defense attorneys, many of whom are alumni of the office. Our independence allows us to focus on our sole mission: serving our clients with zeal. Throughout our history, the Federal Defenders of New York has drawn from many of the best and brightest attorneys from other public defender offices, law firms, and public-interest organizations. In addition to our attorneys, we have a host of talented support staff, paralegals, investigators, social workers, and information technology experts. Just a few highlights include:

Our two-year paralegal program attracts outstanding recent college graduates who work tirelessly during their time with us and often go on to law school or other graduate programs.
Our investigators have many years of experience in the public and private sectors, and they receive regular training to stay current across a variety of fields.
Our social workers are leaders in the field, and our office is a field placement for Master's Degree candidates at top social work graduate schools.
Our information technology staff are expert in computer forensics and handling high volumes of electronic discovery.
Our administrative support staff are fully committed to our mission and work with other staff and clients to make sure our operations run seamlessly.

In addition to our independence, we are proud of our commitment to our clients as individuals. We never use our clients as instruments in furtherance of larger policy goals. We are morally and ethically bound to zealously fight on their behalf regardless of how it may impact society at large. At the same time, we often have opportunities to advocate for public policies that will benefit our clients. Indeed, because we are in a privileged position to witness the frequent injustices in the system, we believe we have an obligation to do so. For that reason, many of us work with our clients in different ways to reform the legal system. We do so as part of initiatives within the federal defender program and in partnership with outside organizations. By engaging in civic discourse, participating in educational and training programs, speaking out publicly when appropriate and privately with elected officials and others in positions of power when possible, we seek to draw upon our experiences and those of our clients to press for meaningful and much-needed change.

Office Locations and Area of Service

The Federal Defenders of New York operates in two federal districts: the Eastern District of New York, which covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and all of Long Island; and the Southern District of New York which covers Manhattan, the Bronx, and Dutchess County, Orange County, Putnam County, Rockland County, Sullivan County, and Westchester County.

In each federal district, we have two offices. In the Eastern District we have offices in Brooklyn and Central Islip. In the Southern District, we have offices in Manhattan and White Plains.

Southern District of New York

52 Duane Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10007
212-417-8700
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White Plains, NY

81 Main Street, Suite 124
White Plains, NY 10601
914-428-7124
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Eastern District of New York

300 Cadman Plaza West, 16th Floor
’One Pierrepont Plaza’ Building
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-330-1200
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Central Islip, Long Island

100 Federal Plaza
7th Floor, Room 770
Central Islip, NY 11722
631-712-6500
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