Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS) (New York)

Rick Jones. Rick Jones is the executive director and a founding member of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS). He is a distinguished trial lawyer with more than 18 years experience in complex multi-forum litigation. Rick is a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School (CLS), where he teaches a criminal defense externship and a trial practice course. He is also… See full bio.

Overhead Ratio: 25.66%

Total Revenue: $4,067,660

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Story: At NDS, each client is represented by a team, rather than by an individual attorney. NDS defense teams are made up of attorneys, investigators, social workers, team administrators, and often law school and social work interns. We strive to provide the best possible services to our clients by combining the knowledge, skills, and attention of all of the team members. We devote significant resources to investigators to help our lawyers vigorously defend our clients. Understanding that social and economic needs often motivate criminal behavior, our social workers also provide intensive services for our clients including advocacy for alternatives to incarceration, educational support, psychiatric and psychological referrals, and drug treatment placements. Team administrators act as the lynchpins that hold the teams together, coordinating between attorneys, clients, their families, the courts, and outside social service providers. Our criminal defense teams also work closely with other NDS programs, including Pre-Arrest Services, Immigration Services Project, and Civil Legal Representation, to ensure that our clients receive effective and efficient legal representation.

Evidence of Impact Summary:

The Neighborhood Defender Service provides effective legal representation to defendants in Harlem and does so with a limited set of resources.
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Organization Strengths Summary:

According to experts, NDS has strong training programs for its staff members and thus has benefited from good staff and leadership.
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

Experts have noted that this organization would benefit from more consistent flows of funding and a shift towards more policy work.
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Rick Jones is the executive director and a founding member of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS). He is a distinguished trial lawyer with more than 18 years experience in complex multi-forum litigation. Rick is a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School (CLS), where he teaches a criminal defense externship and a trial practice course. He is also on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College (NCDC) in Macon, Georgia. Rick sits on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA), and the Sirius Foundation, and is an Editorial Board member of the Amsterdam News. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Rutgers Law School, and was a Leadership New York Coro Fellow.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.