Who should consider working with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County?

Attorneys on our staff have become lawyers because they want to be in a courtroom defending clients, either during trial or on appeal. They may think of the Society as a first step in their careers or as the culmination of a career plan. But they all know the Society offers a challenge and a range of experience available in only a few places.

What kind of experience do Legal Aid attorneys get?

New attorneys on our staff get help and encouragement from senior colleagues. They also receive the elbow room they need to perform independently. Within a few days, new attorneys in the District Court Bureau find themselves in court--first observing, then being observed as they become familiar with court procedures. Newcomers to the Family Court Bureau and the Appeals Bureau also get a running start as they too learn from direct experience.

Even after the initial training period, attorneys and supervisors can always maintain a close working relationship because there is at least one supervisor for every six attorneys. Secretarial and investigative staffs relieve attorneys of many time consuming duties. A professional social work staff assists in finding alternatives to incarceration. The manageable size of our office--about forty total attorneys--means that all the members of the staff know each other, and cooperation within and among bureaus is very much the norm.

With that kind of support, attorneys for the Society quickly learn the skills they need for trials, hearings and conferences. And they never have to worry about getting rusty; in one year at our office they may bring several cases to trial. Appeals attorneys may brief and argue as many as a half dozen cases in any given year, and attorneys in the Family Court Bureau may handle as many as fifteen non-jury trials.

Many attorneys choose to make a life-time career at the Society. They value the friendships formed with their colleagues, the flexibility of their work environment when family or personal responsibilities arise, and the chance to grow in competence and authority. But, if and when they decide to try something new, they also know their experiences at the Society will provide them with the record of accomplishment they need to secure an attractive position in either the private or public sector.

Who We Are And Where We Come From....

Attorneys who chose to work at the Legal Aid Society share a common interest in public service but come from a wide range of backgrounds demonstrating varied interests and experience. The following charts provide a profile of the attorneys working at the Society in the Spring of 2002, showing the law schools and undergraduate institutions attended as well as the undergraduate majors represented by our staff.

The # columns indicate the number of staff attorneys: