District Attorney Offices 2016 Forum

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jun 05, 2016 12:02 am

Record_Sealed wrote:Any other incoming Brooklyn ADAs aware of a Facebook group, listserv, etc? It would be nice to get to know some of the incoming class before we start! Feel free to go ahead and PM me too!
I don't have a FB anymore but I'd definitely be interested in joining some kind of listserv for Brooklyn ADAs. September is right around the corner at this point!

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:47 pm

Weird question. I have jury duty a month before I start at an NYC office, pretty much right after the bar exam, different boroughs. I've sat through enough voir dire to generally know what to expect in regards to them asking about any legal training and any connections to Criminal Justice and my likelihood of being struck.

However, my question is, because I'll be in essence unofficially representing my office, am I expected to suit up for this? When seeing other lawyers in voir dire, some had sports coats or suits (no tie), but they were civil/corporate.

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encore1101

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by encore1101 » Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:09 pm

The hiring season for 2016 has pretty much ended, but in case there are any 2Ls in the audience, Bronx will receive over $11 million more in funds, which the DA wants to use to hire more ADAs. If you're graduating in 2017, Bronx may be hiring a larger class than usual.

Link: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=120 ... aw+Journal

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by fauxpsych » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:11 pm

encore1101 wrote:The hiring season for 2016 has pretty much ended, but in case there are any 2Ls in the audience, Bronx will receive over $11 million more in funds, which the DA wants to use to hire more ADAs. If you're graduating in 2017, Bronx may be hiring a larger class than usual.

Link: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=120 ... aw+Journal
Can't read the full article. Did they successfully get a court part out on rikers? I know they are getting the satellite office.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by elendinel » Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:59 am

encore1101 wrote:The hiring season for 2016 has pretty much ended, but in case there are any 2Ls in the audience, Bronx will receive over $11 million more in funds, which the DA wants to use to hire more ADAs. If you're graduating in 2017, Bronx may be hiring a larger class than usual.

Link: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=120 ... aw+Journal
Does anyone currently work with the Bronx DA? A cop friend of mine who works up there told me that office is a mess, but obviously he isn't an ADA there. Do people who already work there think the extra $$ will help with that?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Redfactor » Wed Jun 15, 2016 3:09 am

Anonymous User wrote:Weird question. I have jury duty a month before I start at an NYC office, pretty much right after the bar exam, different boroughs. I've sat through enough voir dire to generally know what to expect in regards to them asking about any legal training and any connections to Criminal Justice and my likelihood of being struck.

However, my question is, because I'll be in essence unofficially representing my office, am I expected to suit up for this? When seeing other lawyers in voir dire, some had sports coats or suits (no tie), but they were civil/corporate.
I've had other attorneys in a few of my jury panels, and they've all been dressed business casually. I think a full suit and tie is overboard, but I think a sport coat and no tie is appropriate. I'm also on the west coast so things are a bit more casual out here.

Some of those attorneys you've seen may have just anticipated being bounced from the panel and wanted to be able to work in the afternoon?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jun 15, 2016 10:45 am

Does anyone in the NYC market have a sense of the different focuses of each of the NYC DA's Offices? Like, does one office do more felonies than another, does one office tend to do a lot of DUIs, etc? Am I more likely to do ___ work at one office than at another office?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by encore1101 » Wed Jun 15, 2016 3:38 pm

elendinel wrote:
encore1101 wrote:The hiring season for 2016 has pretty much ended, but in case there are any 2Ls in the audience, Bronx will receive over $11 million more in funds, which the DA wants to use to hire more ADAs. If you're graduating in 2017, Bronx may be hiring a larger class than usual.

Link: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=120 ... aw+Journal
Does anyone currently work with the Bronx DA? A cop friend of mine who works up there told me that office is a mess, but obviously he isn't an ADA there. Do people who already work there think the extra $$ will help with that?

I don't know if the extra money would help, but Bronx has a new district attorney, so there may be some changes in sight.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:10 pm

is anyone on the waitlist at Cook County? Seems like there were only offers and rejections

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 17, 2016 4:47 pm

I applied for a fall internship for one of the DA offices and got a call back in May saying they'd love to have me in the fall, and to contact them later on in the summer to schedule specific hours. My class registration for the fall started last week, so I sent them an email early last week to follow up and...radio silence. How long is too long before I should be concerned that I haven't gotten anything (including a "let me get back to you on that")?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I applied for a fall internship for one of the DA offices and got a call back in May saying they'd love to have me in the fall, and to contact them later on in the summer to schedule specific hours. My class registration for the fall started last week, so I sent them an email early last week to follow up and...radio silence. How long is too long before I should be concerned that I haven't gotten anything (including a "let me get back to you on that")?

That's really early. I didn't interview for kings fall internship until August.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jun 18, 2016 10:20 am

Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone in the NYC market have a sense of the different focuses of each of the NYC DA's Offices? Like, does one office do more felonies than another, does one office tend to do a lot of DUIs, etc? Am I more likely to do ___ work at one office than at another office?
The New Bronx DA, Darcel Clark, recently implemented a new unit specifically aimed at Rikers that will eventually have 30 prosecutors and a new "office" there. The new unit is supposed to investigate claims of guard misconduct at Rikers more efficiently and hopefully cut down on some of the astronomical wait times defendants experience.

The Brooklyn DA, Ken Thompson, has implemented a new unit of prosecutors aimed exclusively at reviewing claims of wrongful convictions. ~20 people have had their convictions overturned in Brooklyn since he took office in 2014. In addition, the Brooklyn DA was the first to refuse to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses. They've also created a program called Begin Again in which members of the public can go before a judge and have their low-level summons arrest warrants dismissed.

Just last month the Manhattan DA, Cy Vance, led another gun buy-back program where members of the public could receive prepaid gift cards in exchange for gun, no questions asked. They, along with the Brooklyn DA, have had multiple buyback programs in Manhattan. DA Vance also recently opened another office in Washington Heights.

The Queens DA, Richard Brown just celebrated 25 years in office and is requesting money from the city for additional funding for an anti-gun unit.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jun 18, 2016 12:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone in the NYC market have a sense of the different focuses of each of the NYC DA's Offices? Like, does one office do more felonies than another, does one office tend to do a lot of DUIs, etc? Am I more likely to do ___ work at one office than at another office?
The New Bronx DA, Darcel Clark, recently implemented a new unit specifically aimed at Rikers that will eventually have 30 prosecutors and a new "office" there. The new unit is supposed to investigate claims of guard misconduct at Rikers more efficiently and hopefully cut down on some of the astronomical wait times defendants experience.

The Brooklyn DA, Ken Thompson, has implemented a new unit of prosecutors aimed exclusively at reviewing claims of wrongful convictions. ~20 people have had their convictions overturned in Brooklyn since he took office in 2014. In addition, the Brooklyn DA was the first to refuse to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses. They've also created a program called Begin Again in which members of the public can go before a judge and have their low-level summons arrest warrants dismissed.

Just last month the Manhattan DA, Cy Vance, led another gun buy-back program where members of the public could receive prepaid gift cards in exchange for gun, no questions asked. They, along with the Brooklyn DA, have had multiple buyback programs in Manhattan. DA Vance also recently opened another office in Washington Heights.

The Queens DA, Richard Brown just celebrated 25 years in office and is requesting money from the city for additional funding for an anti-gun unit.
The types of crimes prosecuted will for the most part be more similar than different for junior ADAs with some geographical differences (i.e. I can't imagine as many suspended license cases in Manhattan, but who knows?).

In addition to the above poster's info,

DA Vance has also been trying (and succeeding) in giving DANY a reputation for pursuing white collar crime. Also their big HSBC settlement has been used to fund a lot of extraordinary (for DA offices) projects such as clearing the nationwide backlog of rape kits and funding the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (https://nnscommunities.org/our-work/iip).

DA Thompson, in Kings County, has also focused on making the office's Human Trafficking Unit a model unit for the country. It's very interdisciplinary incorporating alternative court parts, rackets, sex crimes, and counseling programs (such as "John" school). Also, while a Hynes program, the Red Hook Community Justice Center (http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/ ... ice-center), itself an expansion of concept of the the Midtown Community Court in Manhattan (http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/ ... nity-court,) is currently a model for alternatives to traditional court systems world wide. I've visited that part a couple of times throughout the years and it just blows me away how much the people there care.

As for the Bronx, and DA Clark, it's a little too early to tell but reform at Riker's seems to be her primary goal. Not only the addition of a court part and satellite office out there, but also implementing a better tracking system and performance metric for ADAs to speed up dispositions and prevent another Kalief Browder.

My experience with Queens DA (even though I'm a resident) is very limited to friends who practice crim. defense and a couple of interview rounds there. Not a very favorable impression in my opinion and I'll just leave it at that.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:41 pm

BostonCeltics wrote:
reasonableperson wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:An ADA told me over the summer that DANY was planning on hiring a large class - likely around 50. I'm not sure where they got that information or if that's something that would have changed over time.

From talking to ADAs about their hiring timelines, it seems like March offers are incredibly rare - but they do happen.
So DANY having a big class, BX with about 50~ as well and another poster ITT said BK was having a big class (though that one is unsubstantiated). Are all the NYC offices having big classes this year?

This is good for those looking for jobs of course. But aren't there plans for NYC budget cuts?
The proposed budget to the DAs will not be cut, but rather slightly increased. You can the chart here:
http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/home/i ... 0212230046
Wow nice find. For posters trying to view the chart without wanting to sign up, the gist of the article is that the DA offices are all getting slight budget increases and seeking additional increases.

Bronx: $58M this year, $59.6M next year, requesting additional $11.5M
Brooklyn: $93.4M this year, $94M next year, requesting additional $935k
Manhattan: $98.5M this year, $101.4M next year, requesting additional $600k
Queens: $55.9M this year, $57.3M next year, requesting additional $4.9M
Staten Island: $9.9M this year, $9.9M next year, requesting additional $3.6M

So it looks like every office except Staten Island (at least so far) is actually getting a budget increase. This could indeed bode well for those of us still searching for jobs.
We did it boys!
http://bronxda.nyc.gov/downloads/pdf/PR ... Budget.pdf

Edit: Sorry, this was already mentioned by an above poster.
Last edited by Anonymous User on Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:25 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Record_Sealed wrote:Any other incoming Brooklyn ADAs aware of a Facebook group, listserv, etc? It would be nice to get to know some of the incoming class before we start! Feel free to go ahead and PM me too!
I don't have a FB anymore but I'd definitely be interested in joining some kind of listserv for Brooklyn ADAs. September is right around the corner at this point!
So is there a fb group for Kings? If not, I'll go ahead and make one

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 21, 2016 12:43 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Record_Sealed wrote:Any other incoming Brooklyn ADAs aware of a Facebook group, listserv, etc? It would be nice to get to know some of the incoming class before we start! Feel free to go ahead and PM me too!
I don't have a FB anymore but I'd definitely be interested in joining some kind of listserv for Brooklyn ADAs. September is right around the corner at this point!
So is there a fb group for Kings? If not, I'll go ahead and make one
It looks like there is not. Go ahead and start it! I'll join for sure.

I can help start the ball rolling too. I don't know any other class members at the moment, but I know people who might, and can spread the word.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jun 22, 2016 3:47 pm

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 23, 2016 3:28 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone in the NYC market have a sense of the different focuses of each of the NYC DA's Offices? Like, does one office do more felonies than another, does one office tend to do a lot of DUIs, etc? Am I more likely to do ___ work at one office than at another office?
The New Bronx DA, Darcel Clark, recently implemented a new unit specifically aimed at Rikers that will eventually have 30 prosecutors and a new "office" there. The new unit is supposed to investigate claims of guard misconduct at Rikers more efficiently and hopefully cut down on some of the astronomical wait times defendants experience.

The Brooklyn DA, Ken Thompson, has implemented a new unit of prosecutors aimed exclusively at reviewing claims of wrongful convictions. ~20 people have had their convictions overturned in Brooklyn since he took office in 2014. In addition, the Brooklyn DA was the first to refuse to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses. They've also created a program called Begin Again in which members of the public can go before a judge and have their low-level summons arrest warrants dismissed.

Just last month the Manhattan DA, Cy Vance, led another gun buy-back program where members of the public could receive prepaid gift cards in exchange for gun, no questions asked. They, along with the Brooklyn DA, have had multiple buyback programs in Manhattan. DA Vance also recently opened another office in Washington Heights.

The Queens DA, Richard Brown just celebrated 25 years in office and is requesting money from the city for additional funding for an anti-gun unit.
The types of crimes prosecuted will for the most part be more similar than different for junior ADAs with some geographical differences (i.e. I can't imagine as many suspended license cases in Manhattan, but who knows?).

In addition to the above poster's info,

DA Vance has also been trying (and succeeding) in giving DANY a reputation for pursuing white collar crime. Also their big HSBC settlement has been used to fund a lot of extraordinary (for DA offices) projects such as clearing the nationwide backlog of rape kits and funding the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (https://nnscommunities.org/our-work/iip).

DA Thompson, in Kings County, has also focused on making the office's Human Trafficking Unit a model unit for the country. It's very interdisciplinary incorporating alternative court parts, rackets, sex crimes, and counseling programs (such as "John" school). Also, while a Hynes program, the Red Hook Community Justice Center (http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/ ... ice-center), itself an expansion of concept of the the Midtown Community Court in Manhattan (http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/ ... nity-court,) is currently a model for alternatives to traditional court systems world wide. I've visited that part a couple of times throughout the years and it just blows me away how much the people there care.

As for the Bronx, and DA Clark, it's a little too early to tell but reform at Riker's seems to be her primary goal. Not only the addition of a court part and satellite office out there, but also implementing a better tracking system and performance metric for ADAs to speed up dispositions and prevent another Kalief Browder.

My experience with Queens DA (even though I'm a resident) is very limited to friends who practice crim. defense and a couple of interview rounds there. Not a very favorable impression in my opinion and I'll just leave it at that.
This was exactly what I was looking for; thanks guys!

Can I ask why your impression of QDA is unfavorable? I'm trying to figure out how to rank the offices for myself, so any other advice as to whether some offices are nicer/more organized/include more qualified persons/etc. would also be great.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:37 pm

Any Nassau hires?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:18 am

Anonymous User wrote:Any Nassau hires?
One of my classmates had a Nassau offer.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 28, 2016 2:46 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Any Nassau hires?
One of my classmates had a Nassau offer.
When did you classmate receive their offer? Every time I speak with them all I get is a "no decisions have been made hopefully final decisions will be made soon..." sort of response. Anyone know what's going on over there?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 28, 2016 2:48 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Any Nassau hires?
One of my classmates had a Nassau offer.
When did you classmate receive their offer? Every time I speak with them all I get is a "no decisions have been made hopefully final decisions will be made soon..." sort of response. Anyone know what's going on over there?
Different anon here, I had a classmate with a Nassau (Long Island, just in case you mean a different Nassau) offer by January.

EDIT: But maybe they mean no rejection decisions have been made.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 28, 2016 5:24 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Any Nassau hires?
One of my classmates had a Nassau offer.
When did you classmate receive their offer? Every time I speak with them all I get is a "no decisions have been made hopefully final decisions will be made soon..." sort of response. Anyone know what's going on over there?
Late March/early April is when I was first informed I think. Also the classmate is from Long Island and worked at the office basically all of law school.

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by nycada21 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:50 pm

Sorry if I completely missed the boat (just found out about these forums 1.5 months after graduating law school... niceeee) and studying for the bar doesn't give me much time to sift through all 27 pages of this thread.

But hi! Anybody here also starting at the Bronx DA? Also, is there a Bronx FB group?

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Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by fauxpsych » Wed Jun 29, 2016 1:45 pm

nycada21 wrote:Sorry if I completely missed the boat (just found out about these forums 1.5 months after graduating law school... niceeee) and studying for the bar doesn't give me much time to sift through all 27 pages of this thread.

But hi! Anybody here also starting at the Bronx DA? Also, is there a Bronx FB group?
I'll be in the Bronx this fall as well. No facebook group and I have no intention of starting/joining one.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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