Assigned Counsel Program (ACP)

Helpful Resources

The Albany County Office of the Public Defender has several lists of very useful resources we suggest you review

Join the Panel

Are you interested in becoming an Albany County 18B Panel Attorney?

After completing the questionnaire, you will also need to forward your résumé and a cover letter to us at AssignedCounsel@AlbanyCountyNY.gov.

Albany County Assigned Counsel Program Shane B. Hug, Assigned Counsel Program Administrator Stephen W. Herrick, Supervising Attorney Larry J. Rosen, Senior Attorney Harold L. Joyce Albany County Office Building 112 State Street, Room 825 Albany, NY 12207 Phone (518) 447-5640 Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30am–4:30pmAssignedCounsel@AlbanyCountyNY.gov

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The Albany County Assigned Counsel Program is one of three public defense offices contained in Albany County.

The Program is composed of a centralized administrative office and Panel Attorneys.

Panel Attorneys

Panel Attorneys represent indigent clients in both the Criminal and Family Courts in Albany County, as well as in the Appellate Courts in the State of New York.
Panel Attorneys are assigned by the Assigned Counsel Program and/or the Court and are paid at the New York State statutory hourly rate.
These attorneys, unlike those employed by the Public Defender’s and the Alternate Public Defender’s offices, are independent contractors who have been qualified by the Program to handle the matters that they are assigned.

Funding

The Program is largely funded through reimbursement grants from New York State’s Office of Indigent Legal Services (ILS), and its mission is to provide its Panel Attorney with the resources and funding that they need to effectively represent their clients.

Board of Directors

The Program is overseen by a Board of Directors, whose members are appointed by the Albany County Executive, the Chairperson of the Albany County Legislature and the Majority Leader of the Albany County Legislature.

The Board consists of members of the bar as well as non-legal professionals who are selected, in part, upon recommendations of various bar associations.

Our Office

The Assigned Counsel Program’s office consists of an Administrator, a Criminal Court Supervising Attorney, a Family Court Supervising Attorney, an Investigator, an IT Discovery Technician and various support professionals.

Become an Assigned Counsel Attorney in Albany County

Panel Attorneys Requesting Services

Immigration Assistance for Panel Attorneys

The resolution of a case for a non-US citizen client may have significant immigration consequences.

Panel attorneys should ask each and every client where they were born. If the client was not born in the United States, the panel attorney should contact the Regional Immigration Assistance Center (“RIAC”) immediately.

RIAC will provide immigration law support and resources to the panel attorneys and their clients at no charge.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please visit the Immigration Services web site.

Assigned Counsel SharePoint Site

The Assigned Counsel Program (ACP) maintains a SharePoint site for the exclusive use of its panel members.

Any training materials and resources that are gathered by the Assigned Counsel Program are maintained on its SharePoint site. This includes all of the necessary forms for payment of the assigned counsel vouchers. All requests for payment must be submitted to the Assigned Counsel Program using these forms.

If you are a Panel Attorney who needs access, please contact us at (518) 447-5640 or AssignedCounsel@AlbanyCountyNY.gov to receive access to the SharePoint site.