Assigned Counsel Plan Staff Directory

ASSIGNED COUNSEL PLAN, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT

Vanessa Burdick – Executive Director for the First Department (Manhattan and the Bronx)
Office: (646) 769-3964  - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2660
Vanessa serves as Executive Director of the Assigned Counsel Plan for First Department where she leads a large-scale program overseeing more than 300 private criminal defense attorneys handling cases from summons matters to homicide prosecutions. She is responsible for the program’s strategic direction, operational management, and overall performance, ensuring compliance with state standards and the delivery of high-quality representation to indigent clients. Vanessa directs budget development and funding negotiations, serves as a principal liaison to the judiciary and key government stakeholders, and oversees attorney performance, panel compliance, and resource allocation. She supervises Supervisory Attorneys and staff while driving system-wide improvements to strengthen the effectiveness and accountability of assigned counsel representation.

Camille M. Abate – Senior Supervisory Attorney for the First Department Office
Office (646) 769-3949 - Cell Phone: (646) 601-2693
Camille is the Senior Supervisory Attorney for the First Department, with a primary focus on the Manhattan panel. Camille is a trial titan who has tried to verdict over 120 felony cases, many of which were homicide cases. Her trial success rate is unparalleled. Camille is using her instincts and experience to help Manhattan panel members strategize their cases.  Camille is able to assist attorneys to develop a strong defense theory and persuade reluctant judges to grant the defense’s legal arguments. She guides attorneys on how to effectively cross-examine even the most sympathetic of the prosecution’s witnesses, and how to prepare a client to deliver testimony with impact on direct examination. Camille is a master at helping attorneys give closing arguments that incorporate persuasive anecdotes and genuine emotion. Camille teaches Trial Advocacy and the Advanced Criminal Practice Seminar at Brooklyn Law School and has written an innovative trial advocacy textbook entitled Advocacy Excellence: The Jury Trial.

William Ross – Supervisory Attorney for the First Department
Office (646) 769-3965 - Cell Phone (646) 601-2698
Will Ross is a tenacious criminal defense attorney who has worked at Brooklyn Defender Services and the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County. He represented clients at all stages of criminal proceedings while managing a high-volume caseload. Will also served as a Judicial Hearing Officer at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. As a Supervisory Attorney supporting the panel in Manhattan, Will brings extensive courtroom experience and a collaborative approach to problem solving.

Lorraine Watson – Senior Program Coordinator, First Department
Office (646) 769-3962 - Cell Phone (929) 695-2663
Lorraine is the heart and soul of the Assigned Counsel Plan. She has a tremendous personal relationship with the 300 panel attorneys who adore her. Lorraine assists in the assignment of cases, staffing the arraignment and court parts, and managing the panel applications. She is the “go-to” person in the First Department and the attorneys do go to her first.

Elizabeth Taylor – Program Coordinator for the First Department
Office: (646) 693-3953 - Cell Phone: (646) 773-0457
Elizabeth helps attorneys with anything related to arraignment and on-call calendars as well as assignment of cases, providing daily to the attorneys the names and phone numbers of their colleagues who are working these shifts. She also manages the assignment of credit for CLE events, and enters data related to panel cases.

ASSIGNED COUNSEL PLAN, APPELLATE DIVISION, SECOND DEPARTMENT

Barbara DiFiore – 18B Panel Administrator for the Second Department (Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond)
Office: (646) 769-3961 - Cell Phone: (646) 771-3590
Barbara directs operations for the Assigned Counsel Plan for the counties of the Appellate Division, Second Department within the City of New York. She coordinates the panel application process for attorneys who wish to join one of the criminal defense panels which include Misdemeanor, Felony, Homicide and Criminal Appeals and oversees the annual recertification process for current panel members. She supervises a staff of Supervisory Attorneys and support staff working on various aspects of panel management.

Kendea Johnson – Senior Supervisory Attorney for the Second Department
Office: (646) 769-3957 - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2669
Kendea Johnson is the Supervisory Attorney for the Second Department and concentrates her efforts on Kings and Staten Island. Kendea provides technical assistance on cases, represents the Assigned Counsel Plan and the panel attorneys at court stakeholder meetings and is a good resource for information about court policies and procedures. She also assists the court to find attorneys for cases in Kings Supreme Court and other courts when necessary.

Frank Kelly – Supervisory Attorney for the Second Department
Office: (646) 769-3954
Frank Kelly is the Supervisory Attorney for the Second Department and concentrates his efforts on Queens. Frank provides technical assistance on cases, represents the Assigned Counsel Plan and the panel attorneys at court stakeholder meetings and is a good resource for information about court policies and procedures. He also assists the court to find attorneys for cases in Queens Supreme Court and other courts when necessary.

Andrea Glenn Loigman – Supervisory Attorney for the Second Department
Office: (646) 769-3950 - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2661
Andrea is the Supervisory Attorney for the Second Department in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. She provides technical assistance on cases, represents the Assigned Counsel Plan and the panel attorneys at court stakeholder meetings and is a good resource for information about court policies and procedures. She also assists the court to find attorneys for cases in the courts when necessary.

Celine Ebert – Senior Program Coordinator for the Second Department
Office: (646) 769-3951 - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2664
Celine helps attorneys with assignment of cases, staffing of arraignments and court parts, and handles panel applications for the Second Department. She also works with the courts to find panel attorneys to pick up cases sent directly to her from the court, including assignments for representing witnesses at trial, Parole Hearing and/or VOPs that are transferred into NYC from other counties.

Isaiah Ryan – Program Coordinator for the Second Department
Office: (646) 769-3955 - Cell Phone: (646) 773-0475
Isaiah helps attorneys with anything related to arraignment and on-call calendars as well as assignment of cases, providing the names and phone numbers of their colleagues who are working these shifts on a daily basis. He also manages the assignment of credit for CLE events, and enters data related to panel cases.

ACP STAFF SHARED BY FIRST AND SECOND DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS

Supervisory Attorney for Training – to be filled

Rochelle Berliner – Supervisory Attorney for Adolescent Representation
Office: (646) 769-3959 - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2667
Rochelle coordinates with the Youth Parts around the city and provides technical assistance to panel attorneys on representing Juvenile Offender and Adolescent Offender clients. She is familiar with several community-based programs for youth and their families and provides technical assistance on the representation of young people including those who are in their early twenties.

Joan Brown – Supervisory Attorney for Parole Representation
Office: (646) 769-3956 - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2668
Joan Brown oversees all parole representation by panel attorneys in New York City and coordinates with other defenders and the Department of Parole on assignment of attorneys who have been trained in representing clients at parole hearings and related proceedings. Ms. Brown has presented basic and advanced training to panel members who are currently on the Parole Panel and those who wish to join the Parole Panel.

Steven Chavez – Supervisory Attorney, Operations
Office: (646) 769-3960 - Cell Phone: (929) 695-2665
Steven ensures that the Assigned Counsel Plan has what it needs to operate efficiently and consistently, with the needs of the panel attorneys in mind. He participates in attorney and specialist hiring decisions, deals with fundamental office environment issues, such as office space and equipment, and expends the funds for support services such as legal research tools and CLE presentations.

Daniel Chu – Supervisory Attorney for DNA
Office: (646) 769-3952 - Cell Phone: (646) 828-9285
Dan provides in-depth guidance to panel attorneys on cases that involve DNA analysis. He has coordinated with several experts who have a wide variety of expertise in the field of DNA and has recently been added to the statewide Forensics Workgroup that has been organized by the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. He also works with his counterparts at defender offices to stay ahead of the curve on all new and evolving developments in the field of DNA.

Jenny Semmel – Supervisory Attorney, Mental Health
Office: (646) 769-3966 - Cell Phone: (646) 601-2694
Jenny assists panel attorneys to navigate the criminal justice system for clients with serious mental health challenges. For the past 10 years, Jenny was the Bronx Defenders Mental Health Supervising Attorney. In that role, she gained expertise in ATI/ATDs, treatment courts, and 730-related issues. Jenny is a frequent participant in conferences and training programs related to mental health and the legal system.

Rosmery Figuereo – Director, Expert and Ancillary Services
Office: (646) 769-3963 - Cell Phone: (646) 773-0459
Rosmery enrolls and maintains a substantial list of experts in every category from investigators to DNA analysts to interpreters. She can provide guidance on which investigators or experts could be a good match for cases. Rosmery can also help panel attorneys with the forms that are needed to get an investigator, expert or interpreter assigned to cases.