Brooklyn Attorney Leads State Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers

13 Feb 2008

by: Elizabeth Stull

LIVINGSTON STREET — Lisa Schreibersdorf lucked into her first criminal defense job, she said last month as she accepted an award from the Criminal Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. It all started because she was a good babysitter.

The head of the Legal Aid Society in Queens recognized her name and said that if his brother thought she was good enough to take care of his children, she must be good enough to take care of his clients. “I always remember that he said that, that he called them ‘his clients,’” even though his office represented thousands of clients, Schreibersdorf said.

That was in the mid-1980s. Ever since then, Schreibersdorf has dedicated herself to representing poor and indigent criminal defendants. She came to Brooklyn 18 years ago, and in 1997, set out to create a law firm dedicated to helping this underserved group. She founded the not-for-profit Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) as an alternative to the Legal Aid Society, and her office has grown to include about two dozen attorneys. Investigators are available to research the facts and interview witnesses.

“Our guiding principle is that a person’s liberty should not depend upon whether he or she has money to mount a defense,” BDS’ Web site states. “Therefore, we provide every defense service available to our clients free of charge. . . . The average attorney in our office has been practicing criminal law for over 13 years.”

The office currently has a contract with the city of New York to represent 12,500 clients in Kings County. It also takes walk-in clients.

In a practice area dominated by men, Schreibersdorf has distinguished herself as an outspoken advocate and entrepreneur. As executive director of Brooklyn Defender Services she also serves as a liaison to the criminal justice system on such matters as drug court planning and domestic violence policy.

As a liaison, she staunchly maintains her commitment to criminal defense, even on unpopular issues. When the court moved to restrict domestic violence defendants’ interborough travel, for example, Schreibersdorf was among the few to take up their cause in a public forum, opposing the restrictions as unnecessarily harsh. Her voice was heard, and she continues to have an impact on the way court policies are written and implemented. She currently chairs the Problem-Solving Courts Committee of the American Council of Chief Defenders.

The same day Schreibersdorf accepted the state bar’s Michele S. Maxian Award for Outstanding Public Defense Practitioner, she was sworn in as president of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The statewide association is the third-largest state affiliate of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and several members have been officers or directors of the national group, as well. The statewide group presents CLE seminars and regularly files amicus curiae briefs in significant state and federal cases, such as Padilla v. Rumsfeld, U.S. v. Lynne Stewart, U.S. v. Awadallah, Sell v. United States, Dickson v. Ashcroft, People v. Cahill and NYCLA v. Pataki.

The group’s state and federal legislative committees have actively lobbied to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws and change the Sentencing Guidelines, and to increase aid to indigent defense organizations and increase the fees paid to assigned counsel in the state and federal courts.

Schreibersdorf has said that she is proud that BDS can make a positive contribution to the Brooklyn community.

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