Our History

On September 1st, 1997, eight people met in front of a small storefront in the South Bronx hidden between a Radio Shack and a Rent-a-Center: a small, dedicated group of lawyers, one social worker, an office manager, a part time investigator and a receptionist. We shared computers, stored client files in shoeboxes and interviewed clients wherever we could, which sometimes meant a vacant closet. Our reception was hardly warm. The Bronx legal community was suspicious at best; at worst it was openly hostile. Assistant District Attorneys didn't understand who we were, judges refused to even meet with us to discuss our plans and intentions. The larger Bronx community barely noticed that we had moved in.

Ten years later, with a staff poised to grow to over 100 criminal and civil attorneys, social workers, parent advocates, investigators, administrative staff, and community programmers, The Bronx Defenders continues its commitment to provide comprehensive public defense services including zealous representation on a client’s criminal case; compassionate advocacy that combats the causes and collateral consequences of criminal involvement; and innovative outreach that strengthens the Bronx community as a whole. Today, we have represented over 100,000 clients, worked with dozens of different high schools and hundreds of students, collaborated with over 300 community based social service agencies and created our own programs in response to client and community need.

At the same time, The Bronx Defenders has achieved a national and international reputation as a leader in indigent defense. From Tennessee to Rhode Island and Kentucky to Maryland, public defender offices across the country are beginning to create plans to move to more holistic, client-centered models of legal representation. The office has presented papers on holistic lawyering at the 2nd Annual International Conference on Access to Justice in Budapest, Hungary. We have conducted trainings and workshops for eight former Soviet Union countries. Delegations of lawyers, judges, and justice officials from Mexico, China, Australia, New Zealand, England, Lithuania, Israel, The Republic of Georgia, and Kazakhstan have all come to tour the office, speak to staff from all roles and learn more about our model and our work. And recently, the Director of the Maryland State Public Defender Office announced her intention to model their statewide system after The Bronx Defenders’ holistic advocacy approach and launch their first community based holistic defender office in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland.

Each year, students participating in the Community Arts Exchange celebrate their year of learning, reading, and creating by working together on a large mural with a local artist.

By reaching out to the Bronx Community, The Bronx Defenders redefines the expanding role of the Public Defender.

Through the Parent Liaison Institute, community residents and Bronx college students learn to serve as lay advocates for families in their own community who are involved in the child welfare and Family Court systems.

On Election Day, the Voter Enfranchisement Project sends monitors to South Bronx polling sites in collaboration with several other concerned community groups. These trained community volunteers, law students, and lawyers assist voters in casting meaningful ballots at the polls and documenting any problems they encounter.