Lateraling to NYC DA's office Forum

[Anonymous User]

I was wondering if anyone had some insight into the process or success doing so? I've recently passed the NY bar with the aim to slip into NYC. I'm coming from outside the state.

I'm not sure if stats matter but here they are regardless: T1, top 1/3, law review, 2 years experience as a prosecutor in a large local market.

[Anonymous User]

Speaking from Queens, laterals in your shoes would get considered and hired along with the incoming Fall or Spring class and go through the appropriate training, I'm guessing because to re-orient you with the way Queens does things, and because 2 years is, while more than the typical hiree, relatively not that much experience.

It would be different if you're being hired to go into a specialized bureau, like Appeals, and/or you had significant more experience, but AFAIK, you'd go through the same hiring process as a 3L. To put it in perspective, on of my classmates worked 5+ years at Nassau County, doing juvenile delinquency stuff, which deals with the same laws as adult prosecution, but he had to go through the 1st year training and spend time in Criminal Court/Intake.

[Anonymous User]

Speaking from Queens, laterals in your shoes would get considered and hired along with the incoming Fall or Spring class and go through the appropriate training, I'm guessing because to re-orient you with the way Queens does things, and because 2 years is, while more than the typical hiree, relatively not that much experience.

It would be different if you're being hired to go into a specialized bureau, like Appeals, and/or you had significant more experience, but AFAIK, you'd go through the same hiring process as a 3L. To put it in perspective, on of my classmates worked 5+ years at Nassau County, doing juvenile delinquency stuff, which deals with the same laws as adult prosecution, but he had to go through the 1st year training and spend time in Criminal Court/Intake.

OP here. Thanks for the insight and the response! I figured that would be the case. I don't think I am even in the realm of experience for specialized units. Since I would be stacking up against 3L's, would having prior-experience be a significant boost or just a check in the plus column? (I realize any answer may simply be speculation but I'm just trying to get a feel).

[Anonymous User]

Definitely a significant boost, but it wouldn't make an offer automatic. Keep in mind that a lot of the hiring recommendations come from the interviewer(s) at each stage, so they may weigh your experience differently. A lot of the NYC offices, if not all, consider how well of a "fit" the applicant would be as a priority, so your experiences may not be as weighed as heavily as it should.


If I had to bet, I'd say you could expect to get an interview from each office, and assuming you make it the final round, your experience would be the tie-breaker/deciding factor.

[Anonymous User]

Definitely a significant boost, but it wouldn't make an offer automatic. Keep in mind that a lot of the hiring recommendations come from the interviewer(s) at each stage, so they may weigh your experience differently. A lot of the NYC offices, if not all, consider how well of a "fit" the applicant would be as a priority, so your experiences may not be as weighed as heavily as it should.


If I had to bet, I'd say you could expect to get an interview from each office, and assuming you make it the final round, your experience would be the tie-breaker/deciding factor.

That makes sense. I really appreciate the response. If you don't mind me asking, how do you like the the Queens office?

[Anonymous User]

I like it a lot. The DA is very loyal and straightforward, so I think that attitude trickles down to his senior staff, etc. I haven't met/heard of anybody with a serious chip on their shoulder or eager to throw you under the bus to advance themselves.

QCDA has some "negatives," though. Meritorious raises are very rare. Instead, raises are given out office-wide ("All ADAs get a 5% raise."). There's a slight bump when you go from ADA to Senior ADA, but its negligible. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as you don't want to incentivize ADAs to get convictions, or punish ADAs who get bad cases/witnesses, etc., but it sucks if you're somebody that works your ass off, but you get paid significantly less than somebody who does the bare minimum but has been there longer.

The supervisors are cognizant of this, however, and they do their best to keep you happy, regardless. For example, my bureau chief lets me work a very flexible schedule to deal with my childcare issues, as long as I get my work done on time