Neighborhood Defender Service Employee Directory
Law PracticeNew York, United States201-500 Employees
Neighborhood Defender Service (NDS) is a law practice distinguished by its community-based, holistic approach to public defense. Since opening in Harlem in 1990, it operates with a full multidisciplinary team—including criminal and civil attorneys, family defense lawyers, advocates, social workers, investigators, paralegals, interns, and pro bono counsel—to support clients. The model seeks to address root causes that bring people into contact with the criminal legal system and to help disentangle them from the system where possible. Its work goes beyond courtroom representation by pairing defense with robust social services to mitigate collateral consequences across employment, education, immigration, and family or housing matters, while also pursuing policy changes to advance justice in communities. Based in Harlem, New York, NDS expanded in 2019 with a second office in Detroit to extend its services to Wayne County.