Board of Directors

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Hillard spent most of his career at the Criminal Appeals Bureau of The Legal Aid Society.  Starting as a staff lawyer, he was elevated to Supervising Attorney, Assistant-Attorney-in-Charge, and, ultimately, the Attorney-in-Charge of the Bureau, which employed over 120 appellate lawyers.  During his career Hillard represented over 200 clients before the Appellate Division, First and Second Departments, and argued close to two dozen cases before the New York Court of Appeals.  He has been a member of the Board of Appellate Advocates since its founding in 1995, the last ten years of which he has served as Board Chair.  From 1995 to 2012 he also served as Board Chair of Brooklyn Defender Services, an organization providing trial representation to indigent defendants in Kings County.

Lynn is an honors graduate of Cornell Law School.  She has practiced criminal law since 1971, with an emphasis on appellate criminal law since 1974.  From 1974 to 1995, she was with the Criminal Appeals Bureau of The Legal Aid Society, serving as Assistant Attorney-in-Charge from 1986 to 1995.  She is the founder of Appellate Advocates, serving as Attorney-in-Charge from 1996 to 2017, and since 2017 as senior counsel. She is one of the co-authors of the West book New York Criminal Law (all editions), for which she wrote the chapters on, inter alia, Assault, Homicide, Burglary, Robbery, and Forgery.  She has lectured on appellate advocacy and various issues relating to criminal law and procedure for indigent defense offices, bar associations, the New York State Defenders Association, the New York Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, and the Office of Court Administration.  She is the recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s first Criminal Justice Section award for “Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Appellate Advocacy.”

A graduate of New York University School of Law, Andrew began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney.  After working at a civil law firm, he joined the Criminal Appeals Bureau of The Legal Aid Society, where he was an appellate attorney for 30 years.  Andrew was subsequently an associate professor at Brooklyn Law School, teaching an innocence clinic, and then worked as an attorney at Appellate Advocates from 2008 to 2012.

A graduate of SUNY Geneseo and CUNY Baruch, Alison is a certified public accountant. She has more than 25 years of professional financial experience. Since 2008, Alison has worked for nonprofit organizations that are focused on making a positive difference in the world.

Andrea worked as a staff attorney and supervisor at The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, from 1983 to 1995. Since then, she has represented state and federal clients on appeal and in post-conviction applications.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Dan was a staff attorney at The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, from 1981 to 1986, and a Senior Supervising Attorney from 1986 to 1995.  He was the Principal Court Attorney to numerous judges for more than 25 years: Hon. William Leibovitz (1995 to 2001), Hon. Brenda Soloff (2001 to 2006), Hon. Michael J. Obus (2007 to 2020), and Hon. April Newbauer (2021).

Carol was a supervisor at the Criminal Appeals Bureau of The Legal Aid Society.  She is a former Assistant Attorney-in-Charge and Board member of the Center for Appellate Litigation, an organization that handles appeals for indigent clients in the Appellate Division, First Department.