The Supreme Court regulates attorney ethics and ensures attorneys abide by rules of practice. The Office of Attorney Ethics and Departmental disciplinary committees conduct investigations regarding complaints lodged with them.
Lawyers frequently enlist paralegals for various tasks. While some limit them to organizing and maintaining files, others allow their paralegals to perform much more duties.
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court serves as its state’s highest appellate court and sets precedent in interpreting and applying state laws. Litigants seeking review by this body can file a petition for certification with them; each year however, only limited matters will be reviewed due to limited court resources and justices’ discretion on which matters they wish to hear about.
The Supreme Court justices are appointed by the Governor and must be confirmed by the Senate. This system of nomination and appointment helps reduce excessive partisanship while encouraging collaboration across party lines.
The Supreme Court has made great strides toward addressing issues affecting the public, from protecting equal rights for same-sex couples and school funding equity to finding funding disparities based on student poverty and racial segregation to many issues surrounding law enforcement and criminal justice.
New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is a professional association comprised of lawyers and law students in New York that works to foster professionalism, raise judicial standards and educate the public about legal issues. Additionally, it administers disciplinary proceedings against attorneys as well as investigating complaints filed against them; furthermore it has 28 substantive law sections as well as over 60 standing and special committees to fulfill this mission.
Grievance Committees are comprised of members who investigate allegations that attorneys violate ethical rules in a case. This can be accomplished by interviewing witnesses and reviewing both sides’ evidence; if an allegation proves true, an attorney could face formal reprimand or even removal from the bar.
Maxwell Kampfner first joined NYSDA as a staff attorney in 2021 and currently provides Backup Center direct defender services and researches client-centered representation strategies. She serves on multiple committees and task forces, including the Judiciary’s Supreme Court & County Court (Criminal) E-Filing Committee as well as Public Defense Advisory Committee and Criminal Defense Appellate Defender Council of NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services.
New York State Disciplinary and Grievance Committees
New York State Attorney Grievance Committees investigate allegations of attorney misconduct throughout New York. Composed of lawyers and nonlawyers alike who volunteer their time, these committees aim to maintain standards within the legal profession. Complaints taken seriously as they could impact upon an attorney’s career, reputation and ability to earn a living; proof must be present before any discipline can be enforced against an individual attorney.
The legal profession must uphold high ethical standards to safeguard public safety, yet the grievance process should not be difficult for an accused attorney. Unfortunately, it often proves elusive; appeals often being filed with New York’s court of appeals as final recourse.
Second Judicial Department
The Appellate Division, Second Department is an intermediate appeals court with jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases filed in Superior level trial courts across Dutchess, Brooklyn, Nassau, Putnam Queens Rockland Suffolk Westchester counties. Unlike the Supreme Court which hears all appeals automatically, Appellate Division judges review proceedings from courts below to assess compliance with statutory, constitutional, and common law guidelines by attorneys judges and jurors involved.
Attorneys on a panel must produce comprehensive appellate briefs which outline all relevant legal issues. Oral argument is also an essential component of this process and requires significant preparation several weeks (if not months) prior.
Steven specializes in specialty courts such as Summons Parts and Gun Initiative Parts, complex criminal and homicide cases and Assigned Counsel Plan attorneys from Kings, Queens and Staten Island counties to prepare and argue their cases before the Appellate Division Second Department.
