The Bronx Defenders is a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

office located in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. At the Bronx Defenders, criminal defense lawyers work together with

civil lawyer Civil law is a legal system rooted in the Roman Empire and was comprehensively codified and disseminated starting in the 19th century, most notably with France's Napoleonic Code (1804) and Germany's (1900). Unlike common law systems, which rel ...

s, family defense lawyers, immigration lawyers, non-attorney advocates,

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

s, and investigators to help their clients address the full range of legal and social issues that can result from

criminal charge A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can t ...

History

Founded in 1997 by a team of eight advocates, including its former executive director

Robin Steinberg Robin Steinberg is an American lawyer and social justice advocate who is currently the chief executive officer of the Bail Project, an organization modeled after The Bronx Freedom Fund, which she founded with her husband David Feige in 2007. Stei ...

David Feige David Feige is an Americans, American lawyer, legal commentator, and author. He is the author of the memoir ''Indefensible: One Lawyer's Journey into the Inferno of American Justice'' and co-creator of the TNT (U.S. TV network), TNT legal drama ' ...

and criminal defense attorney

Daniel Arshack Daniel "Dan" Arshack (born March 30, 1956) is an American criminal defense attorney, co-founder of The Bronx Defenders, managing partner of the law firm Arshack, Hajek and Lehrman, PLLC, and a founding member of the International Criminal Bar, ...

, the Bronx Defenders is responsible for developing holistic defense, an interdisciplinary model of criminal defense lawyering. The Bronx Defenders is also host to

The Bronx Freedom Fund The Bronx Freedom Fund is a nonprofit bail fund located in the South Bronx. The first charitable bail organization in New York State, it provides bail assistance to indigent defendants facing pretrial detention for low-level and misdemeanor charg ...

, the first charitable bail organization in New York State. In late 2023, Justine Olderman stepped down from her position as Executive Director. She held the post for six years, and was the second ever in the position, being appointed by founder Robin Steinberg. As of January 2024, Wesley Caines has stepped into the roll as an interim while the Board hires an outside firm to conduct a national search for a new Executive Director.

Contract

The Bronx Defenders are a contracted

for New York City, along with the

Legal Aid Society The Legal Aid Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal aid provider based in New York City. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest and largest provider of legal aid in the United States. Its attorneys provide representation on criminal and civil mat ...

, ''New York County Defender Services'' in Manhattan, ''Brooklyn Defender Services'' in Brooklyn, ''Queens Law Associates'' in Queens, and the ''Neighborhood Defender Service'' in northern Manhattan.

Recognition

In recent years, the Bronx Defenders has received national attention and praise for its work providing holistic defense to indigent residents of the Bronx, including the

National Legal Aid & Defender Association The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to advocating equal justice for all Americans and was established in 1911. History The Fourteenth Amendment to ...

’s Clara Shortridge Foltz Award. As of early 2016, the office had 250

employee Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

s working in it.

References

External links

Official WebsitePersonal Injury Lawyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronx Defenders The Bronx Defenders Public defense institutions Criminal defense organizations Legal aid in the United States Criminal justice reform in the United States Non-profit organizations based in the Bronx Legal advocacy organizations in the United States

History

Contract

Recognition

See also

References

External links