Early in his tenure at the Law Department, Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo initiated the Public Service Program - a private/public partnership with the City's prominent law firms, where firms either lend their attorneys to the Law Department for a finite period of time or agree to take on City cases in-house.

The Program benefits both the City and the law firms. The City receives the assistance of an incredibly well-trained and talented group of attorneys while the attorneys receive the kind of hands-on, in-court litigation experience that is often hard to come by at the best private law firms.

Recently, in response to the increasing number of attorneys being deferred and furloughed as a result of the economic crisis, the Public Service Program has been expanded. (See recent New York Law Journal coverage.) Under the expanded Program, individual attorneys and graduating law students who have been deferred or furloughed may volunteer their time and skills to the Law Department.

While participation in the Program will not lead to offers of permanent employment at the Law Department, it will enable the volunteers to keep their skills fresh while serving the public.

Public Service Program: Law Firm Participants
Deferred and Furloughed Associates