NYSDA Client Advisory Board Offers Assistance in Creating Local Boards

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Marion Hathaway, Chair Emeritus, NYSDA's Client Advisory Board and Jonathan Gradess, Executive Director, NYSDA

ALBANY, NY (12/07/2009)(readMedia)-- On Thursday, December 3, 2009, the Client Advisory Board of the New York State Defenders Association met in Albany to continue planning a training curriculum to assist Chief Defenders across the state in setting up local client advisory boards. At the conclusion of the meeting, Chair Emeritus Marion Hathaway received a plaque expressing the appreciation of the NYSDA Board of Directors for her work as Chair of the Client Advisory Board. On Friday, current Client Advisory Board Chair Jay Coleman made a well-received presentation at a statewide Chief Defender Convening about creating local client advisory boards.

NYSDA's Bylaws require creation of an advisory board, which includes formerly incarcerated public defense clients and advocates from a range of community organizations involved in client services and justice issues. The members of the board are appointed by, act at the behest of, and advise the Executive Director of the Association with respect to an array of issues. Completed projects of the NYSDA Client Advisory Board, such as the Client-Centered Representation Standards, are available for use by local public defense programs. http://www.nysda.org/html/advisory_board.html . The current project, to assist local Chief Defenders who want to create their own client advisory boards, has reached the pilot-project stage.

As Coleman told the Chief Defenders gathered at the Schuyler Inn on Friday, a local client advisory board can help public defense offices ensure that "clients receive the message you intend to give them." By reviewing an office's form letters and publications, by answering questions about existing or planned client interview spaces and interview techniques, or by providing feedback about an incident or publicity about the office, client advisory boards can help a public defender or legal aid society do its job better. Coleman's presentation was a follow-up to phone calls and letters to Chief Defenders about the possibility of setting up local client advisory boards or similar entities. Nearly 20 Chiefs at the convening indicated an interest in pursuing the idea.

At the Thursday meeting of the NYSDA Client Advisory Board, Coleman thanked his predecessor, Marion Hathaway, for her help. NYSDA Executive Director Jonathan E. Gradess presented Hathaway with a framed copy of the Board of Directors' resolution recounting and thanking her for her years as Chair, 1998-2009.