3L Public Defender Applications Forum

[Anonymous User]

My cycle was pretty interesting to say the least. The jobs I thought I had a shot at I got rejected from. My top two choices (the two I thought I had the least shot of getting), I got offers from. My full list is below. I just accepted the PDS DC offer a couple of days ago.

Offers:
PDS DC (Accepted the offer)
Prettyman (Georgetown)

Rejections:
Bronx Defenders
Legal Aid Society NY
Brooklyn Defenders
Miami Defenders

Also joining PDS in the fall. Had a similar experience in that I found it incredibly difficult to predict who would take me and who would ding me.

Offers:

• Miami
• NJ
• PDS

Rejections or waitlists:

• Bronx
• Brooklyn
• Prettyman

Withdrawn:

• CPCS (Massachusetts)
• Legal Aid
• Mecklenberg
• New York County Defender Services
• Philly
• West Palm Beach

[aelzbp]

.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

I was told it was in the low 40s. I'm wondering about starting salary for NY Legal Aid Society.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

I was told it was in the low 40s. I'm wondering about starting salary for NY Legal Aid Society.

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

Sorry my quotes are all messed up, but...
Talked with a prosecutor down in Miami last weekend, who was just recently hired a year or two ago. She says they make about the same salary -- which is 'round 41k.

I know an attorney in Queens working for Legal Aid who has been there for 2 years or so and makes 48k.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

I was told it was in the low 40s. I'm wondering about starting salary for NY Legal Aid Society.

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

Sorry my quotes are all messed up, but...
Talked with a prosecutor down in Miami last weekend, who was just recently hired a year or two ago. She says they make about the same salary -- which is 'round 41k.

I know an attorney in Queens working for Legal Aid who has been there for 2 years or so and makes 48k.

wow two years in at 48k? I was under the impression that the starting salary was at least 50k.

[Anonymous User]

I know an attorney in Queens working for Legal Aid who has been there for 2 years or so and makes 48k.

Starting salary at Legal Aid - across the 5 boroughs - is $48K for "law graduates," who are not yet admitted to the bar. So unless your friend is not admitted (and Legal Aid only allows attorneys one retake opportunity for those who failed the Bar), this isn't possible pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement. Once you are admitted to the bar, your salary is bumped to $53K during your first 12 months at Legal Aid. Pay raises occur yearly and are pursuant to a salary step scale. So at year two (so after you've been working at Legal Aid Society for 12 months), your salary is $54K. At year three (after 24 months of employment), your salary is $57K. Plus, there's comp time and other benefits which increase your pay.

This is still not where it should be, though, considering that the DAs in Queens start at 58K.

[Anonymous User]

I am soooo annoyed waiting for legal Aid when it seems like every other 3L at my school has something lined up. Is the Legal Aid class usually just the people with decent applications who had the patience to wait for an offer?

[Anonymous User]

I am soooo annoyed waiting for legal Aid when it seems like every other 3L at my school has something lined up. Is the Legal Aid class usually just the people with decent applications who had the patience to wait for an offer?

Legal Aid is not the only public defender organization that hires in the spring (or even summer). Also, a lot of the "slowness" is because of hurricane Sandy, which shut down Legal Aid's building on Water Street for about 3 months... Water Street is where the administrative staff works. There was also an early decision application cycle this year, so if you didn't apply for that be prepared to wait until May or June.

[Anonymous User]

I am soooo annoyed waiting for legal Aid when it seems like every other 3L at my school has something lined up. Is the Legal Aid class usually just the people with decent applications who had the patience to wait for an offer?

Legal Aid is not the only public defender organization that hires in the spring (or even summer). Also, a lot of the "slowness" is because of hurricane Sandy, which shut down Legal Aid's building on Water Street for about 3 months... Water Street is where the administrative staff works. There was also an early decision application cycle this year, so if you didn't apply for that be prepared to wait until May or June.

I get it. Just trying to complain/ commiserate.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

I was told it was in the low 40s. I'm wondering about starting salary for NY Legal Aid Society.

Anyone know the starting salary of new PDs in Miami-Dade? Thanks.

Sorry my quotes are all messed up, but...
Talked with a prosecutor down in Miami last weekend, who was just recently hired a year or two ago. She says they make about the same salary -- which is 'round 41k.

I know an attorney in Queens working for Legal Aid who has been there for 2 years or so and makes 48k.

I'm a Prosecutor in Miami-Dade. PD's start at 42K and we start at 40. There are marginal bumps along the way.

[lawyer921]

has anyone had a second round interview with legal aid society in NY and if so does anyone know how many rounds there are?

[Anonymous User]

has anyone had a second round interview with legal aid society in NY and if so does anyone know how many rounds there are?

There are three rounds of interviews with Legal Aid - a screener interview, a panel interview, and then a final interview with Seymour James, the head of Legal Aid. If you make it to the third round, you are basically getting an offer unless you completely mess up.

[Anonymous User]

has anyone had a second round interview with legal aid society in NY and if so does anyone know how many rounds there are?

There are three rounds of interviews with Legal Aid - a screener interview, a panel interview, and then a final interview with Seymour James, the head of Legal Aid. If you make it to the third round, you are basically getting an offer unless you completely mess up.

Thanks for the info!!! What's your guess on the % of people who go on panel interviews that are invited to the final interview?

[robin600]

My cycle was pretty interesting to say the least. The jobs I thought I had a shot at I got rejected from. My top two choices (the two I thought I had the least shot of getting), I got offers from. My full list is below. I just accepted the PDS DC offer a couple of days ago.

Offers:
PDS DC (Accepted the offer)
Prettyman (Georgetown)

Rejections:
Bronx Defenders
Legal Aid Society NY
Brooklyn Defenders
Miami Defenders

Also joining PDS in the fall. Had a similar experience in that I found it incredibly difficult to predict who would take me and who would ding me.

Offers:

• Miami
• NJ
• PDS

Rejections or waitlists:

• Bronx
• Brooklyn
• Prettyman

Withdrawn:

• CPCS (Massachusetts)
• Legal Aid
• Mecklenberg
• New York County Defender Services
• Philly
• West Palm Beach

I thought NJ didn't hire unless you have taken the bar. Is this not the case?

[Anonymous User]

I have a panel interview coming up with an office that is known to be pretty harsh, any suggestions/tips on how to prepare?

[Anonymous User]

For those of you that got rejections from Brooklyn, how did they contact you? I haven't heard anything and am nervous it might have been sent to the wrong address/spam folder.

[Anonymous User]

I thought NJ didn't hire unless you have taken the bar. Is this not the case?

They interview at a very limited number of schools in NY. They hire 3Ls out of this OCI process, though the target number of entry-level hires is pretty small--around 5 or 6.

You're hired as a legal assistant (or something similar), and then upgraded to an attorney when you pass the bar.

[Anonymous User]

For those of you that got rejections from Brooklyn, how did they contact you? I haven't heard anything and am nervous it might have been sent to the wrong address/spam folder.

Snail mail rejection letter after OCI.

[jlb815]

has anyone had a second round interview with legal aid society in NY and if so does anyone know how many rounds there are?

There are three rounds of interviews with Legal Aid - a screener interview, a panel interview, and then a final interview with Seymour James, the head of Legal Aid. If you make it to the third round, you are basically getting an offer unless you completely mess up.

Thanks for the info!!! What's your guess on the % of people who go on panel interviews that are invited to the final interview?

I'd also like to know any speculation about the percentage. Also to the anon who posted about third round interviews pretty much meaning you have the job, any more on that? Do we know how many people get offers after the final rounds? or the timeline for that? any additional info would be great!!

[Anonymous User]

I have a panel interview coming up with an office that is known to be pretty harsh, any suggestions/tips on how to prepare?

If you're willing to share the office name, we may be able to give you more tailored advice.

[Anonymous User]

I have a panel interview coming up with an office that is known to be pretty harsh, any suggestions/tips on how to prepare?

If you're willing to share the office name, we may be able to give you more tailored advice.

It's a smaller office in the south.

[Anonymous User]

The NYU PD guide (http://www.pslawnet.org/uploads/Public_ ... URRENT.pdf) is pretty comprehensive in terms of what to expect for interviews.

The section on PDS' interview process might be helpful. They're known for being pretty aggressive in their interviews, too.

[Anonymous User]

I got an invite for a final round at Legal Aid. Does anyone know if you just have a conversation or if there are more hypos?

[Anonymous User]

I got an invite for a final round at Legal Aid. Does anyone know if you just have a conversation or if there are more hypos?

Meaning, your final interview with Seymour James, or your panel interview? The final interview is a one-on-one with Seymour James. If this is what you are asking about, this final interview is mostly a conversation, but there are a couple easy hypos. Also, don't be scared if Seymour James has a poker face the whole time - he's hard to read.

has anyone had a second round interview with legal aid society in NY and if so does anyone know how many rounds there are?

There are three rounds of interviews with Legal Aid - a screener interview, a panel interview, and then a final interview with Seymour James, the head of Legal Aid. If you make it to the third round, you are basically getting an offer unless you completely mess up.

Thanks for the info!!! What's your guess on the % of people who go on panel interviews that are invited to the final interview?

I'd also like to know any speculation about the percentage. Also to the anon who posted about third round interviews pretty much meaning you have the job, any more on that? Do we know how many people get offers after the final rounds? or the timeline for that? any additional info would be great!!

I don't know about the percentage of applicants who get a 2nd interview as I am not involved in hiring. I just know that last year, 70 people were hired for the Fall 2012 class, or about 2% of applicants. The anecdotal evidence is that you are pretty much going to get hired if you make it to the 3rd round. I'm a new attorney who joined Legal Aid's Criminal Defense Class in October 2012. And the timeline is all over the place - I had a first round interview in March, a second round interview in April, and a final interview at the end of May (after graduation), and I received an offer the day after my final interview. Others had to wait weeks for their offer, and some people didn't receive offers until July. I know that people have already had their second round interviews with Legal Aid (so much earlier than last year), and that interviews tend to happen in waves.