New York District Attorney’s Offices Forum

[mad2220]

Hi there:

I am a litigator at a boutique thinking of applying to either the Manhattan or Brooklyn DA’s office. I had several questions about life there.

1. What is the current atmosphere at each office?
2. What is the day-to-day like for a Manhattan or Brooklyn rookie ADA? The hours?
3. What is the mentoring like? Is one assigned to a more senior ADA or dropped in the water on their own?
4. What sort of cases does a rookie work on? I assume misdemeanors and traffic offenses?

Any comments or blunt opinions appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

ADAs in NYC do not prosecute traffic offenses with the exception of criminal traffic crimes like DUIs and suspended licenses. I think they have clinic students in Manhattan handle the suspended license cases.

[Anonymous User]

Hi there:

I am a litigator at a boutique thinking of applying to either the Manhattan or Brooklyn DA’s office. I had several questions about life there.

1. What is the current atmosphere at each office?
2. What is the day-to-day like for a Manhattan or Brooklyn rookie ADA? The hours?
3. What is the mentoring like? Is one assigned to a more senior ADA or dropped in the water on their own?
4. What sort of cases does a rookie work on? I assume misdemeanors and traffic offenses?

Any comments or blunt opinions appreciated.

1. Both are great places with great coworkers and great vibes. Morale has gone down at DANY (Manhattan) under Bragg and the Chief of Staff at Brooklyn is allegedly toxic (see press reports) but they are both, all in all, good places to work.
2. Hours aren't bad but you'll be busy before trial prep. At DANY, there are a lot of "institutional assignments" to staff as a rookie, so you'll find yourself writing up cases in ECAB or doing arraignment on nights and weekends. The elite investigative units at DANY are very chill and 9-5 but even the rookies and junior felony assistants aren't working that hard. Definitely not BigLaw hours. Regarding the true "day to day," as you pose in your question, there definitely isn't as much writing as you'd do in a firm, but there is plenty of it, especially as you advance in felony units. Bail reform came with discovery reform which makes us have to do a lot more annoying tasks than in the past, and that has surely impacted the day to day. The best part is (1) real cases with real people and (2) the opportunity to argue in court on a pretty regular basis, which you don't get at a firm.
3. The mentoring is fine and depends if you're treated as a lateral or a rookie. I've seen people from fancy firms go both ways. Rookies have a lot of mentoring and supervision - they aren't admitted when they start - at DANY, most rookies go into Trial Bureaus where there are dedicated misdemeanor supervisors to help them but the misdemeanor supervisors are also managing their own cases. Brooklyn has a similar framework.
4. You don't prosecute traffic offenses, they are handled by an administrative court run by the DMV, though you handle drunk driving cases and other vehicular misdemeanors. Rookies handle misdemeanors but I have seen firm laterals go straight to felony or investigative units at both DANY and Brooklyn so it depends. DANY also places some rookies in appeals or the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. At DANY, even if you start in a Trial Bureau, you will get to felonies in around a year, but at Brooklyn, it takes longer. I would also add that many of the misdemeanors are very serious. Stupid stuff like shoplifting and trespass cases are often disposed of at arraignment, and you will have some very egregious misdemeanors - things like sex crimes, vicious assaults, domestics, etc.