About The Bronx Defenders
The Bronx Defenders is a nonprofit public defense office that opened in 1997 and works from the South Bronx. It is a 501(c)(3) organization and is known for a holistic defense model that teams lawyers with social workers and advocates. The office says it defends nearly 20,000 Bronx residents each year in criminal, civil, family and immigration matters. It is also one of the contracted public defenders for New York City.
Its work includes criminal defense, immigration defense, and family defense, including representation of parents in child-removal proceedings. Through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, it represents detained immigrants who cannot afford an attorney. The organization also trains public defenders through its Center for Holistic Defense, and it runs a forensic practice group that addresses unreliable scientific evidence. Its main New York office is at 360 East 161st Street in the Bronx, and it lists a separate walk-in location nearby on East 161st Street.
| Type | Nonprofit legal services |
|---|---|
| New York offices | Bronx |
| Phone | (718) 838-7878 |
| Website | bronxdefenders.org |
| Registered NY attorneys | 228 |
Practice areas
Areas of work that The Bronx Defenders describes on its own website. They describe the organization as a whole, not the practice of any individual attorney listed below.
Organization profile based on its official website and public sources (reviewed October 29, 2026). Attorney list from the New York State Unified Court System registration data. Not affiliated with The Bronx Defenders.
Registered attorneys
Thomas Klein Currently registered Mary Barile Delinquent Antoinette Costanzo Currently registered Laura Stasior Currently registered Teal Dixon Suspended Emma Ketteringham Currently registered Scott Constantine Suspended Sarah Marchesi Suspended Amy Crawford Currently registered Kaelin Akohonae SuspendedRegistration status can change at any time. Confirm any attorney's current status through the official New York Attorney Search.