Shaina Watrous

Center for Appellate Litigation

The Center for Appellate Litigation is a premier non-profit public defense law firm dedicated to the pursuit of equal justice under the law for indigent New Yorkers in their criminal appeals and other post-conviction proceedings. We believe all people deserve dignity, respect, and the right to be heard and treated fairly when their liberty has been taken from them or threatened, regardless of their ability to pay for an attorney. In support of our mission, we provide the highest quality legal representation to clients assigned to us by the Appellate Division, First Department and the Appellate Term, First Department, in criminal appeals and post-conviction proceedings in Manhattan and The Bronx. Our clients are among society's most disenfranchised: sentenced and often incarcerated prisoners – subject to systemic and individual injustices during the era of mass incarceration – without the means to challenge the system that has taken away their freedom. We identify reversible errors that contributed to our clients' convictions and otherwise challenge the procedures and outcomes of the system that may have unjustly convicted them. We pride ourselves on developing dynamic and effective approaches to achieving justice. Our client-centered approach takes our advocacy beyond the vitally important matter of the appeal and beyond the limitations of the cold record. We do all of this with passion and creativity, a commitment to the highest standards of eloquent and persuasive written and oral advocacy, and a team of attorneys who rank among the most experienced and successful in the field.