Attorneys

Andrew Kossover, a partner in Kossover Law Offices, is currently the President of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is also Ulster County's part-time Chief Public Defender. Andy attended SUNY Buffalo and Vermont Law School. He immediately began the practice of law under the auspices of the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York (Kings County).

In 1984, Andy relocated from New York City to the Hudson River Valley. He was appointed by the late Governor Mario Cuomo to the Board of Visitors of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center. Mr. Kossover is the former law clerk for then Ulster County Family Court Judge Karen K. Peters (now Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division, Third Department). Mr. Kossover is a former President of the Ulster County Bar Association.

Mr. Kossover is also a member of the adjunct faculty at the State University of New York at New Paltz where he has taught such courses as Criminal Law and Introduction to Law. He has lectured at Bard College and the United States Military Academy at West Point. From 2003 to 2013, he served as a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Third Judicial District.

Mr. Kossover, prior to becoming President of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, served as Chair of the Association's Legislative Committee. He recently resigned (with some measure of sadness) from his position as a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Defenders Association in order to devote greater time and attention to his responsibilities as President of NYSACDL. Andy also serves on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association and is the current Chair of the State Bar's Committee to Ensure Quality Mandated Representation.

Immediate Past-Chief Judge of New York's Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman, appointed Mr. Kossover to the Advisory Group for the New York State Justice Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. Chief Judge Lippman, in appointing Mr. Kossover, referred to "Mr. Kossover's experience, insight, and expertise as valuable attributes that will assist the Task Force in achieving its important goals."

In 2015, Andy was awarded the Michele S. Maxian Award for Outstanding Public Defense Practitioner by the New York State Bar Association. The Award is named for the late Michele Maxian, a Legal Aid Society lawyer who spurred criminal justice reform in New York City.

Areas of Practice

• Criminal Defense
• Personal Injury
• Litigation

Bar Admissions

• New York
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York

Education

• Vermont Law School, South Royalton, Vermont, J.D.
  
  

Professional Associations and Memberships

• New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL)
  President
  
  
• New York State Bar Association
  Chair of the Committee to Ensure Quality of Mandated Representation
  
  
• New York State Justice Task Force on Wrongful Convictions
  Member, Advisory Group (appointed by Presiding Judge of New York State Court of Appeals)
  
  
• New York State Bar Association - Criminal Justice Section
  Executive Committee
  
  
• Ulster County Bar Association
  Past-President
  
  
• New York State Defenders Association, Board of Directors; 2008 to 2015
  
  
• Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, Committee on Character and Fitness
  Member, 2003 to 2013
  
  
• Ulster County Criminal Justice Council (Legislative Appointment)
  
  
• Ulster County Board of Cooperative Education Advisory Board
  Member