2023 Annual Report
Defending, Advocating, and Changing in 2023
A message from our founder, Lisa Schreibersdorf
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Our Mission
Brooklyn Defender Services is a public defense office whose mission is to provide outstanding representation and advocacy free of cost to people facing loss of freedom, family separation and other serious legal harms by the government. We believe in a client-centered approach and work, in and out of court, to uphold the rights, freedom and dignity of people threatened by unjust, racist and harmful legal systems.
Our staff of
519
is made up of 290 attorneys, 71 social workers, 36 paralegals, and 132 other staff including investigators, administrative and operations support.
Criminal Defense
We defend people accused of crimes and work towards the best outcome for them.Our attorneys conduct full investigations of the evidence, analyze and argue legal issues pertinent to each case, and advocate for our clients with the prosecutor and judge regarding pre-trial issues, such as bail and orders of protection. Our team of attorneys, social workers, investigators, paralegals and other experts prepare cases for trial, explore all opportunities for negotiated plea bargains to reduce additional consequences, and advise our clients of their options. As we work towards the best outcome for the people we represent, we provide a wide range of supports, including jail services for clients who are detained, social work resources for clients and access to a wide range of legal services for issues like housing, benefits, education and employment.
BDS worked with
25,000
clients in 2020.
100%
of these clients were accused of a crime, facing loss of liberty, their home, their children, or deportation.
Family Defense
We represent parents and caregivers in Brooklyn who are investigated by or prosecuted for child neglect or abuse by NYC’s Administration for Children's Services. Our goal is to keep families safely together or reunify families as soon as possible when separation occurs. Our attorneys, social workers and other staff work together to advise, assist and represent parents every step of the way.
BDS worked with
25,000
clients in 2020.
100%
of these clients were accused of a crime, facing loss of liberty, their home, their children, or deportation.
We sued ACS on behalf of Brooklyn mother for violating her constitutional rights
For decades, New York's Administration for Children's Services has targeted, surveilled, and investigated families without any recognition of their rights. In 2023, our Civil Rights & Law Reform team and Family Defense Practice teamed with pro bono law firm Crowell & Moring LLP to sue ACS on behalf of a Brooklyn mother and her young son over the agency's numerous violations of their constitutional rights in its ruthless investigations of baseless reports of abuse and neglect.