Kramer Levin was one of a handful of major firms invited to help New York’s Legal Aid Society launch its first-ever project to involve law firm associates in trial level criminal defense work. Each fall since 2008, one or two Kramer Levin associates have been assigned to devote 20-30% of their time to the project over several months — handling their own misdemeanor dockets (from arraignment to trial) as lead counsel and assisting on felony cases.