Staff Attorney, Decarceration Project

#25-200
New York, New York, United States
Deadline is 3:00 PM EST for Date Listed
Dec 09, 2025
Job Description

The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice is seeking an experienced attorney for its Decarceration Project. The Decarceration Project is a first-of-its-kind unit that reimagines how public defenders confront pretrial detention. Through strategic litigation, policy advocacy, and early intervention, the Decarceration Project fights to ensure as many of our clients return to their communities after arrest as possible.

Attorneys in the Decarceration Project are Legal Aid’s in-house experts on bail and pretrial detention. They directly litigate pretrial detention matters with the potential for broader systemic impact, while also providing complex release advocacy and strategic support, drafting model papers and guides to enhance the practice of trial attorneys, and monitoring pretrial detention trends to inform broader policy and systemic litigation priorities.

Attorneys are assigned to a particular borough office and serve as the primary resource for litigating pretrial detention of Legal Aid’s clients in their assigned borough. When needed, Staff Attorneys assigned to a particular borough may also be called on to provide assistance and client services in other boroughs. All members of this citywide unit work together to develop, implement, and coordinate Legal Aid policy and litigation strategy concerning bail and other pretrial detention matters.

Candidates will have a deep understanding of criminal trial practice in New York City and robust knowledge of New York’s bail statute, with extensive on-the-ground experience in New York City criminal courts. They will have a demonstrated commitment to the liberation of incarcerated individuals.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Case Consulting & Strategic Litigation

Work closely with trial attorneys, social workers, and paraprofessionals in the assigned borough to advocate for the release of clients who are being detained pretrial in New York City jails.
Challenge adverse pretrial detention decisions using writs of habeas corpus, appeals, and other strategic litigation and advocacy.
Anticipate and respond to novel legal issues relevant to pretrial detention.
Identify and develop potentially precedent-setting cases with an eye towards the Court of Appeals.
Work with colleagues in the Special Litigation Unit to identify the need for strategic litigation.

Systemic Advocacy

Monitor changes in the practices of the assigned borough, and work with colleagues in the Policy Unit to identify the need for systemic advocacy.
Inform discussions with system stakeholders regarding pre-trial detention issues.
Timely collect data to inform priorities and to fulfill reporting requirements to funders.

Training & Attorney Development

Conduct trainings on the law and practice relevant to pretrial advocacy in the assigned borough.
Develop advisories, model templates, and resource guides that elevate the borough's release advocacy practice.

Professional Development and other duties as assigned

Participate in continuous professional development.
Stay abreast of changes in the law relevant to bail and pre-trial detention.
Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:
Admission to the New York State Bar
Minimum 5 years legal experience, including at least 3 years in felony trial level defense

Preferred qualifications:
Experience in juvenile or adolescent defense preferred
State or federal level appellate litigation experience preferred
Familiarity with extradition law preferred
Experience in policy development, coalition work, and legislative advocacy preferred
Litigation experience implicating constitutional or civil rights issues preferred

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $84,000-$152,500

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

Cover Letter
Resume

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.

Location
Citywide