Marcia Levy joined the Firm in October, 2007 as special counsel for Pro Bono Initiatives. As Special Counsel, Ms. Levy works with the Firm's Pro Bono Committee to develop and expand further the Firm's pro bono programs, and provide an experienced and invaluable resource for S&C lawyers engaged in pro bono activities. As the Firm's recently-appointed head of Professional Development, Ms. Levy oversees the Firm's lawyer training, education and mentoring programs, and participates in the Firm's trial skills educational programs, in addition to the pro bono program. She is also a member of the Firm's Diversity, Recruiting and Associate Experience Committees.

Ms. Levy was, until recently, the assistant dean for skills programs and a clinical law professor at Hofstra Law School. Prior to that, she was the director of clinical programs and assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Ms. Levy also spent a decade as a clinical law professor at Rutgers University Law School implementing and teaching in a program that taught students how to represent indigent clients charged with petty offenses.

Until fall 2008, she served as the first education director for public service programs, in addition to teaching and serving as a program director for deposition and trial skills programs. She was project director for two international programs that developed clinical education abroad: the Rutgers/Russia NISCUPP grant, which linked Rutgers with three law faculties in Samara, Russia; and an ABA CEELI grant, which linked Rutgers with a law faculty in Novi Sad, Serbia. Ms. Levy served for three years on and is a past chair of the AALS Section on Pro Bono and Public Service Opportunities.

Ms. Levy spent the fall of 2008 as the ABA CEELI clinical law specialist in Russia. The following spring, she was named associate director of Columbia Law School's Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional Societies (PILI), where she worked to develop clinical legal education in Russia and Central and East Europe. Ms. Levy has continued as a consultant for those and other organizations, providing expertise on clinical legal education and skills training in places including China, Jordan and Azerbaijan.

Ms. Levy is an expert in trial advocacy training and serves as program director for a variety of National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) programs. She also acts as the education director for public service programs, in addition to teaching and serving as a program director for deposition and trial skills programs. Ms. Levy created the Intensive Pre-Trial and Trial Program for Rutgers law students and the Summer Skills Institute for Hofstra Law Students, and has worked with faculty in Chile, Jordan and China, to develop programs to teach oral advocacy skills.

Ms. Levy has served as an assistant federal defender for The Legal Aid Society Federal Defender Services Office in the Eastern District of New York. She was also a staff attorney with The Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project for three years.

Rankings and Recognition

In 2008, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) announced that Ms. Levy won the Robert E. Oliphant Service to NITA Award 2007 for her long-time dedication to promoting NITA's public service programming.