NYSACDL Announces Initiatives for Law Students
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here are students in New York State’s law schools today who are interested in being the criminal defense lawyers of tomorrow. NYSACDL President Lori Cohen wanted to ensure that those students saw your criminal defense bar association as a resource starting now and as they move into their careers. Therefore, in May of 2019, she
announced two new initiatives for law students interested in practicing in Criminal Defense. As we move forward through to 2020, the Board of Directors will continue to explore more ways that NYSACDL can work with New York State’s law schools and students.
NYSACDL Foundation Law Student Internship Stipend Program The first initiative NYSACDL announced was the NYSACDL Foundation Law Student Internship Stipend Program. This program is designed to encourage a diverse pool of law students in New York State to consider careers in criminal defense practice through successful summer internships. This program was funded by the proceeds of the 2019 NYSACDL Foundation Annual Dinner and we thank the donors to that dinner for making it possible. Through this program, the NYSACDL Foundation awarded five $1,000 stipends to qualified students in New York with Summer 2019 internships in private or public criminal defense practices. Stipends were awarded based upon determination of the student’s commitment to criminal defense practice and financial need. Through outreach to New York State’s law school career centers and internship providers, we received 18 applications from a variety of students across New York State. A selection committee met in mid-June to choose the recipients and were encouraged by the quality of all the applications. The following students were chosen to receive awards:
Free Law Student Memberships At its March 2019 meeting, the NYSACDL Board of Directors approved a change to the law student membership category, making memberships for law students free until graduation. This change has allowed NYSACDL to provide outreach and resources for law students interested in pursuing criminal defense in New York. All of the students who applied to the above internship stipend program received a free membership in NYSACDL, and we have also added several other students to our membership ranks. We encourage practicing members to
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reach out to those law students and offer their support to them as they move forward in their career. If you know of a law student interested in pursuing criminal defense, encourage them to visit the NYSACDL web site for more information on membership! Moving forward, NYSACDL will be reaching out to the law schools in New York State to see how we can collaborate and provide even more resources for students. If you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Atticus | Volume 31 Number 2 | Fall 2019 | New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
