Press Release
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ SWEARS IN SIX NEW ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
From left to right Maria Simonova, Jessica Laguerre, Laurane Fumex, the DA, Emily Jilson, Naomi-Beth Carter, and Elizabeth Mullin.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the appointment of six new Assistant District Attorneys to the Queens District Attorney’s Office. The new ADAs received their degrees from Columbia Law School, Cornell Law School, Emory University of Law, Harvard Law School, the University of Connecticut School of Law and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.
District Attorney Katz said: “I am happy to welcome this impressive group of talented young lawyers to the Queens District Attorney’s office. They chose to start their prosecutorial careers in Queens and join us in our mission to keep our borough safe, while also ensuring a fairer and more just criminal justice system for all.”
The new Assistant District Attorneys, sworn in on March 31, began an immersive, six-week Incoming Orientation Program that will acquaint them with every aspect of the office’s mission. They will interact with the office’s executive staff and senior ADAs. This new class will participate in lectures, interactive workshops and shadow experienced ADAs as they work on behalf of the people of Queens County.
This intensive training program will also include visits to the NYPD’s laboratory, shooting range, Emergency Services Unit and a police precinct. They will also have a chance to do a ride along with NYPD officers during their tour of duty.
Following the completion of their training, the new ADAs will be placed into a rotation through various bureaus, including the Intake Bureau, the Domestic Violence Bureau, the Criminal Court Bureau and the Appeals Bureau.
The new prosecutors and the law schools from which they graduated are Naomi-Beth Carter, Emory University of Law; Laurane Fumex, University of Connecticut School of Law; Emily Jilson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law; Jessica Laguerre, Cornell Law School; Elizabeth Mullin, Columbia Law School; and Maria Simonova, Harvard Law School
New ADA training is led by Assistant District Attorney Courtney Finnerty, Director of Litigation Training and Legal Hiring, and Assistant District Attorney Courtney Charles, Deputy Director of Litigation Training and Deputy Bureau Chief of Felony Trial Bureau III, under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Supreme Court Trial Division Pishoy Yacoub.