Center for Community Alternatives Lawyer Recognized

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (07/22/2014)(readMedia)-- In over 35 years as a lawyer, Alan Rosenthal has developed legal expertise in topics that include civil rights and police misconduct as well as criminal law and such specific areas as sentencing and capital mitigation. These areas of law largely affect the disenfranchised and marginalized. Rosenthal has helped countless individuals through direct representation and advocacy. He has done so as a civil legal services lawyer, in private practice, and at the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) where he is currently Co-Director of Justice Strategies and Counsel.

Additionally, Rosenthal has generously shared his expertise with other lawyers, fostering the quality of representation statewide and increasing exponentially the number of people who have benefitted from his knowledge and skill. On July 21, 2014, the New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA) recognized Rosenthal's past and continuing work by presenting him with the Wilfred R. O'Connor Award.

"NYSDA has worked with Rosenthal in many creative ways over the years," said Al O'Connor, a long-time NYSDA Staff Attorney who presented the award. O'Connor noted that Rosenthal has participated in strategy sessions on how to deal with punitive legislation like the Rockefeller Drug Laws, how to improve sentencing procedure and tactics, and how to counter measures – administrative and statutory – that deny clients rights and dignity. He has presented training on a variety of topics at NYSDA's continuing legal education (CLE) events, which offer high-quality, relevant, and affordable CLE credits to busy attorneys on public defense budgets. He is ever-available for phone calls about many facets of the law affecting public defense clients.

Rosenthal was recognized by NYSDA for much more than his work directly with the Association. He has presented at seminars and events sponsored by other bar associations, from the New York State Bar Association to the New York City Bar, and at events by other organizations from the Corrections and Youth Services Association in Auburn, NY, to the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals and NYS Department of Labor 2008 Youth Academy in Syracuse, NY. His extensive writings, such as Sentencing for Dollars: The Financial Consequences of a Criminal Conviction and The Use of Criminal History Records in College Admissions Reconsidered, are reflected in the publication list on the CCA website where they are available to a wide range of lawyers and others working for fairness and justice and to individuals seeking justice on their own.

The Wilfred R. O'Connor Award, named in honor of founding member and long-time President of NYSDA, Bill O'Connor, is presented to an attorney who has been in practice fifteen or more years, practices in the area of public defense, and exemplifies the client-centered sense of justice, persistence, and compassion that characterized Bill's life.