Legal Training for Assistant District Attorneys

Entry Level Prosecutors

The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office’s Legal Training Unit is responsible for all tiered training of Assistant District Attorneys, as well as the continuing legal education of the office's professional staff. 

The Department administers an intensive five-week Orientation Training Program, which is designed to prepare new hires to be District Court (misdemeanor-level) ADAs. The Orientation Program consists of dynamic classroom presentations and hands-on, interactive simulations and workshops during which new ADAs practice their emerging skills.  There is an emphasis on trial advocacy (e.g., jury selection, opening statements, direct and cross examination, exhibits and summations) and the program culminates in a mock trial experience. New ADAs are also instructed on effective case management skills, witness interview techniques, legal implications of search and seizure law and how to meet all ethical obligations. Exciting field trips may include insider-tours of the Medical Examiner’s Office, police headquarters and the gun range. 

This new-hire training is conducted by the NCDA’s most talented and experienced lawyers, many of whom are renowned in the fields of criminal law and trial advocacy, and are published authors, law professors and coaches of award-winning mock trial competition teams.

Junior Prosecutors

Ongoing Training and CLE courses

The Nassau County DA’s Office is committed to the professional development of its Assistant District Attorneys throughout the office.  Toward this end, the Legal Training Unit also provides ongoing training meant to develop prosecutors as they progress in their career and begin handling felonies, as well as ongoing trial advocacy training for both District Court and County Court assistants. 

As an accredited provider of Continuing Legal Education Credits certified by the Continuing Legal Education Board of the NYS Office of Court Administration, the NCDA’s Legal Training Unit also regularly administers Office-Wide CLEs and other CLEs designed to:

• address issues specific to individual divisions and bureaus;
• allow ADAs to remain abreast of changing legal matters; and 
• develop expertise in particular areas of law.

Training at the NCDA extends beyond legal skills and case analysis to professional development.  ADAs promoted to supervisory positions receive training in making the transition to supervisor, time management and leadership skills.

The office also recognizes the importance of reinforcing a high standard of professionalism and ethics, which is essential to ensuring that justice is pursued in every single case. 

In addition to formal training, supervisors and more experienced ADAs are all committed to mentoring junior prosecutors, and helping them develop into the future talent of the Office.