Ulster County Assistant Public Defender Honored at Saratoga Conference

SARATOGA, NY (07/26/2011)(readMedia)-- Heather Toole, Ulster County Assistant Public Defender, received the Kevin M. Andersen Award on July 25 in Saratoga Springs. The award was created by the Genesee County Public Defender Office in memory of a young staff lawyer whose hallmarks were a sense of justice, determination, and compassion. It was presented during the Forty-Fourth Annual Meeting and Conference of the New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA).

"Never before have I received as many complimentary comments about one of my attorneys..." wrote Ulster County Public Defender Andrew Kossover in nominating Toole. Judges, court clerks, and even opposing counsel "consistently praise her preparation, attorney-client relations, and trial skills," Kossover added.

Toole represents people in family court matters such as custody/visitation, guardianship, family offense, paternity, neglect, and support violation cases. As Kossover noted, "family law public defenders are often overlooked for the vital role they play in [public] defense." This years' Kevin M. Andersen Award thus pays tribute both to Toole as an exceptional attorney and to the type of work that she does. In addition, the award, which goes to lawyers in practice less than 15 years, recognizes the contributions of newer lawyers in the public defense arena; Toole began practicing in 2004.

Others honored by the Association this year include Stephen J. Pittari, recently retired Chief Counsel and Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, and Norman Shapiro, a private attorney practicing in Orange County and a NYSDA founding member, both of whom received the Service of Justice Award. Gary Horton, Genesee County Public Defender, received the Wilfred R. O'Connor Award, which honors a public defense attorney in practice fifteen or more years who exemplifies the client-centered sense of justice, persistence, and compassion that characterized the late Bill O'Connor's life.

NYSDA, a not-for-profit, membership organization, has been providing support to New York's criminal defense community since 1967. Its mission is to improve the quality and scope of publicly supported legal representation to low income people.