The Court’s Office of the Law Guardian fulfills the statutory mandate that law guardians be appointed to provide counsel to minors in certain Family Court proceedings.

The Presiding Justice appoints both the Law Guardian Director, who administers the program, and a Family Court Advisory Committee comprised of Family Court Judges, the Assigned Counsel plan Administrator; practicing attorneys and law school professors experienced in family law.

The Assigned Counsel Plan was formed pursuant to the plan of the bar associations and Article 18-B of the County Law. Its purpose is to provide counsel for indigent defendants in the Family, Criminal and Appellate Courts.

With the assistance of the Central Plan Administrator and the Central Screening Committee, whose members are appointed by the Presiding Justice, the office handles over 60,000 cases annually in the First Department. To all the members of these Committees, who serve pro bono, the Court extends its gratitude.