Staff Logon

Access your email, calendar and

To Do list by clicking here

Follow us on facebook:

Latest News...

BDS PARTICIPATES IN PROJECT SAFE SURRENDER - March 2013

On Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, Brooklyn Defender Services will participate in Project Safe Surrender at the Mt. Pisgah Church, 212 Tompkins Ave., Brooklyn. In conjunction with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Office of Court Administration, and clergy members, Brooklyn Defender Services will have attorneys assist hundreds of New Yorkers safely return on outstanding summons warrants. BDS will also have attorneys and paralegals from its Immigration Unit and Family Defense Practice available to advise New Yorkers on immigration and family issues. Other community resources will be available as well. For more information, you can visit the Safe Surrender website:

http://www.projectsafesurrender.org/

BDS Investigator Internship Program

BDS  Investigative Assistant Interns will review cases (trespass, burglary, assault, etc.), deciding what course of action is needed, and perform follow-up investigations of those cases. The interns will shadow senior investigators in the field. They may need to contact businesses, and ask for surveillance videos, or customer entry logs, etc. The interns will be expected to have excellent note taking skills, and will be required to document every action taken during this investigative process. This internship has a rolling admission, start date will vary.

BDS Director Selected for Access to Justice Award

BDS Executive Director Lisa Schreibersdorf has been selected as a recipient of the New York State Women's Bar Association (WBASNY) Judith S. Kaye Access To Justice Award. The award is given to a WBASNY Member who demonstrates the core values to which former Court of Appeals Chief Judge Kaye steadfastly adhered in order to ensure that there would be equal access to justice and that justice was carried out, in part, through service, good will and professionalism.

The Award will be presented at the WBASNY's annual convention, this year to be held at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 7th, 2013. For more information about the Award, WBASNY and their convention, visit their website at www.wbasny.org

BDS hosts RWU Alternative Spring Break

Three students listed below from Roger Williams University School of Law will experience first-hand the challenges and rewards of indigent criminal defense when they join BDS under the auspices of a project called Alternative Spring Break. Instead of spending their spring break on a sunny tropical beach, these aspiring trial attorneys will sit in on criminal court arraignments, pre-trial calendar parts and trial courtrooms in not-yet-sunny downtown Brooklyn. We congratulate them on their dedication and look forward to having them with us.



Left to right: Nicole Verdi, Nadya Comas, Danielle Dutault

PROTECTING OUR FUTURE; DEFENDING THEIR RIGHTS

    Following years of representing young people and at a moment when the New York Court System is facing significant reform in the area of youth justice, Brooklyn Defender Services is pleased to present the Youth Initiative combining

    - Specialized defenders for young people (under 21) impacted by the criminal justice system;

    - Comprehensive services including social work and education advocacy; and

    - Policy advocacy based on what we hear from our young clients.

    To learn more, contact Amy Albert, Youth Initiative, at aalbert@bds.org or 718-254-0700 ext. 220.

Brooklyn Defender Services is currently accepting applications for the Summer 2013 Immigration Unit Internship Program

The Immigration Unit advises noncitizen clients as to the immigration consequences of their criminal cases. Immigration Unit attorneys work in close collaboration with BDS defenders to avoid or minimize the negative immigration consequences of their noncitizens’ criminal cases. We also provide direct representation to our noncitizen clients in immigration court proceedings, against immigration detention, and in affirmative applications for immigration benefits.

We seek dynamic individuals with a demonstrated commitment to immigrant rights, criminal justice, and/or social justice issues. Applicants should also possess the ability to perform nuanced legal research and writing at the highest standard, to communicate clearly and effectively through written and oral advocacy, and to be a team player. Spanish, Mandarin or Russian fluency is preferred but not required.

All internships are volunteer positions. However, BDS will work with students to secure funding from outside sources or class credits where available.

This program is extremely competitive and positions are limited. To apply, please send a cover letter and a resume to Marie Mark at mmark@bds.org with the subject line “Summer 2013 Immigration Internship.” We will accept applications from November 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012. Selected applicants will be interviewed and decisions made by March 2013.

BDS Welcomes New Attorneys and Law Grads

Back row, left to right: Hannah McCrea, Daniel Derby, Alex Perlin, Nick Fribourg, Lauren Zimmerman, Courtney Dixon, Scott Hechinger

Front row, left to right: Susan Millor, Lindsay Michaelson, Rebecca Gregory, Krystal Rodriguez, Ruben Loyo, Isa Chakarian, Whitney Bernstein

BDS currently accepting applications for the Summer 2013 Criminal Defense Internship Program

Brooklyn Defender Services offers full-time summer criminal defense internships to law students with a commitment to public defense. The internship program is a ten week program. Intern duties may include legal research and writing, representation of clients in arraignments (under supervision), court appearances, client and witness interviews, trial preparation and investigation assistance.

The program is extremely competitive and positions are limited. To apply, please send a cover letter and a resume to Jillian Modzeleski at jmodzeleski@bds.org. We will accept applications from September 4, 2012 until October 31, 2012. Selected applicants will be interviewed and decisions made during November 2012.

All internships are volunteer positions. However, BDS will work with students to secure funding from outside sources or class credits where available.

Criminal Defense Summer Interns 2012

A belated welcome to our summer team of law students who have been working hard for weeks now on various criminal matters under the supervision of Jillian Modzeleski, Esq.



Left to right: Scott Welfel, NYU Law School; Jeremiah Rygus, New York Law School; Nathaniel Miller, Cornell Law School; Aviva Michelman-Dumas, Cardozo Law School; Emily Winograd, NYU Law School; Tim Jones, Brooklyn Law School

Immigration Unit Welcomes Summer Interns

The Immigration Unit is pleased to welcome a new group of dedicated law students who will assist our clients with their immigration matters this summer. From left to right: Jordan Cunnings, UCLA School of Law; Chris Stanislowski, NYU School of Law; Molly Coe, CUNY School of Law; Carla Taveras, St. John's University School of Law.

BDS answers media questions in aftermath of "Facebook Acquittal"

Brooklyn Defender Services held a news conference on 12/06/11 regarding the discovery of Facebook comments written under the names of members of the NYC Police department. This facebook page was discovered during the representation of an innocent client wrongfully accused of gun possession. The story broke in the NY Times on 12/5/11 in Bill Glaberson’s article entitled “NYC Police Maligned Paradegoers on Facebook”.  BDS issued a statement following the press conference.

BDS Welcomes Our Newest Attorneys and Law Graduates...

To keep up with an expanding officewide caseload, BDS is pleased to announce the addition of the following new Trial Attorneys and Law Graduates:

Join us in welcoming these accomplished attorneys to BDS.

BDS Announces New Staff Members

BDS is proud to announce the addition of several new staff members who will help us meet the challenge of an increasing number of new cases:

    Edward Daniels, Esq.

    Thomas Leith, Esq.

    Cary London, Esq.

    Jillian Modzeleski, Esq.

    Susan Mitchell, Esq.

    Stacy Bisignano

    Christina Dominguez

    Claire Eccles

    Jacqueline Romero

    Claire Mauksch

    Nikita Bowen

    Robert Geryk

    David Katz

    Matthew Candal

    Jasper Franks

We will post more information soon about the impressive backgrounds of each of these individuals, but for now join us in welcoming them to the BDS family.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

A new series of compelling public service announcements by our friends at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office:  Video

Brooklyn Community Foundation Awards BDS A Grant to Continue Assisting the Haitian Community in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in Brooklyn through grantmaking and by encouraging local giving and community service. The first and only one of its kind in Brooklyn, the Foundation was founded in 2009 to support the borough’s most effective nonprofits through five Fields of Interest: Community Development, Education and Youth Achievement, Caring Neighbors, Arts for All, and Green Communities. Since 1998, operating as the Independence Community Foundation, the Foundation distributed more than $70 million in grants throughout New York Metro area, more than half of which were in Brooklyn.

To read the full article, click here

April 2010: BDS Holding Legal Assistance Clinics to Help Haitians Apply for Temporary Protected Status

Brooklyn Defender Services is spearheading a Brooklyn-based initiative to help Haitian residents apply for Temporary Protected Status. We are working in partnership with the Brooklyn Bar Volunteer Lawyers Project, the Brooklyn Bar Association, and the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and in collaboration with other Brooklyn-based service providers.

Clinics will be held every Monday from April 5th through July 12th at 123 Linden Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Please see the attached flyers for more information:

HILAP flyer English.pdf

HILAP flyer Creole.pdf

February 2010:  BDS receives grant from New York Community Trust to continue providing immigration services through the Haitian Immigration Legal Assistance Program

"Coming out of hiding as an undocumented immigrant and applying for Temporary Protected Status is a serious decision, and Haitian immigrants need lawyers who can explain the benefits and possible risks,” said Kathleen Masters, who works in Flatbush, Brooklyn as Deputy Executive Director of CAMBA. Also, in the rush to apply, new non-English speaking immigrants are more easily tricked into paying exorbitant fees or paying for help from lawyers with no experience in immigration law. Fortunately, there are legal services providers who have the expertise and the ability to train and coordinate services.

A $45,000 grant to Brooklyn Defender Services will support its Haitian Legal Relief Project, which held a training session on TPS on February 3 that drew more than 200 attorneys. The funding will enable the agency to help 3,000 people apply for TPS and file petitions to bring family members to the U.S. from Haiti temporarily. It will also conduct three workshops and coordinate 15 legal clinics in the heart of the Brooklyn Haitian community through July.

To read the full Press Release from the New York Community Trust, click on the link below:

 NYCT Help for Haiti.pdf

Corrections, submissions or inquiries about this website should be directed to the Webmaster.