The Bronx Defenders – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks experienced criminal defense attorneys with a commitment to social justice to serve as Supervising Attorney for our 2025 Training Team as well as Mixed Teams comprised of attorneys with less than 4 years of felony experience.

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. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation. 

Criminal Defense Practice

The Bronx is one of the most aggressively policed boroughs in New York City. As a result, we represent thousands of people each year, nearly 40% of whom are charged with low-level offenses such as shoplifting, traffic offenses, and drug possession. As part of our holistic approach, we spend time getting to know the people we represent and gaining a deeper understanding of their lives and needs. With that understanding, we advocate for people by thoroughly investigating their cases, raising novel legal arguments, using creative tools of persuasion and storytelling, and addressing needs that go beyond the scope of their cases. 

Training Team & Mixed Teams

Training Team consists of entry level attorneys, as well as lateral attorneys with varying levels of experience, who receive several weeks of intensive, interdisciplinary training on holistic representation, research and writing, litigation skills, client and community engagement, systems of oppression, and the impact of the carceral state on marginalized communities. Throughout their first year in practice, Training Team will participate in practice-specific trainings to sharpen their advocacy skills, raise their cultural sensitivity and consciousness, enhance their collaboration with clients and colleagues, and engage in both misdemeanor and felony training and litigation. 

Mixed Teams consist of attorneys with more than a year of criminal defense experience and who handle both misdemeanor and felony cases, including some advanced felony representation.

Reporting directly to either the Deputy Director or Training Director of the Criminal Defense Practice, the Criminal Defense Practice Supervisor will represent a reduced caseload while providing direct supervision, support, and guidance to staff attorneys. Supervisors will assist with CDP programming, development, and training while acting as a liaison between Bronx Defenders staff and actors in the criminal courthouse.

Direct Representation

• Represent a reduced number of people in criminal court
• 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 refusal 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, confidently negotiate and skillfully advocate for the people we represent with judges, prosecutors, and other actors within the systems our clients are navigating 
• Work a reduced number of arraignment shifts, including on nights and weekends 
• Assist colleagues with representation of clients 
• Co-counsel cases in other venues like 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 internal training as well as, on occasion, external community events, and conferences in which BXD is participating or presenting 
• Demonstrate best practices in holistic representation and criminal defense

Direct Supervision 

• Supervise approximately 7 criminal defense attorneys
• Provide equitable and effective supervision to all supervisees
• Regularly conference cases with supervisees and host group case rounds
• Monitor referrals to other practices to ensure holistic representation
• Review supervisees’ written work, including signing off on all written work until the attorney is admitted to the New York Bar
• Observe in-court advocacy of supervisees and provide timely and constructive feedback and support
• Shadow new attorneys in arraignments at the beginning of their practice and when they transition to felony attorneys
• Be available for co-counsel and in-court supervision
• Assist with and review all litigation preparation
• Monitor supervisees’ workload to ensure it is equitable and manageable for the supervisee
• Review Legal Server use to ensure data is accurate and up to date
• Assist in arranging case coverage
• Approve timesheets and time-off requests
• Supervise case and calendar management, client interaction and relationships with the judiciary and adversaries
• Supervise and encourage collaboration with other advocates and colleagues through case conferencing, coverage, and mooting litigation
• Support supervisees in meeting the expectations of their job responsibilities and notify the Managing Director when additional support is necessary

Liaison in the Courthouse

• Represent the interests of the office and be available as a point of contact for the judiciary and adversaries
• Advocate with the judiciary and adversaries on behalf of attorneys and clients

Leadership Responsibilities

• Participate in supervisor meetings and support other CDP supervisors
• Assist other supervising attorneys with supervision coverage of staff attorneys, including in-court supervision
• Work with the Misdemeanor Litigation and Training Supervisor to foster the professional development of new attorneys
• Provide evaluations for new attorneys at designated intervals as well assist in the annual evaluation of attorneys and advocates
• Assist in the development of best practices, training, projects and initiatives in CDP
• Assist the development and delivery of internal and external training for CDP advocates, BxD staff, and external partners
• Advance holistic advocacy on the team and throughout the organization

To be eligible, candidates must have:

• A minimum of 4 years of criminal defense practice experience

Candidates must demonstrate:  

• A passion for holistic public defense, client-centered representation, and work on behalf of racially and economically marginalized communities
• Commitment to fierce advocacy, and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of clients
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people with various backgrounds, identities and experiences
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers
• Strong supervisory and mentoring skills as demonstrated by a record of success in developing and mentoring supervisees, providing intentional and constructive feedback as well as effectively balancing the needs of supervisees against their own caseload
• Strong research, writing, and courtroom advocacy skills
• Varied litigation experience, including experience making de novo bail applications, conducting pretrial hearings, and filing novel legal motions
• Ability to work collaboratively with external stakeholders, such as the Office of Court Administration (OCA) and Bronx Community Solutions (BCS) to advance the needs of the people we represent
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters

Salary is commensurate with experience.  For candidates with 3-6 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position is approximately $98,992-$107,891. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is not within the bargaining unit.

This position is exempt. By law, nonexempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not. 

To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and a cover letter in one document. Your cover letter should share why you want to do this work at our office and any additional information you would like us to consider. Your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience, so your resume should include all relevant professional experience. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted through July 7, 2025 for internal candidates and July 21, 2025 for external candidates.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we serve.