Jill Paperno

Jill Paperno is the first assistant public defender for the Monroe County Public Defender's Office in Rochester, New York. She has represented indigent defendants with the Public Defender's Office for over thirty years, handling primarily violent felonies and drug offenses. She has tried many cases over the years, including sex offenses and homicides. Ms. Paperno has trained and supervised staff attorneys for twenty years, and assisted in developing the training program for her office. She is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education events, lecturing on topics ranging from "The Nuts and Bolts of Criminal Defense" to "Strategies for Cross-Examining the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome Expert." She is a contributor to the New York Criminal Defense Blog at newyorkcriminaldefense.blogspot.com. In 2010 Ms. Paperno was awarded the Monroe County Public Defender's Office Jeffrey A. Jacobs award for outstanding trial work. In 2011 she was named a Rochester Daily Record Leader in Law and awarded the Daily Record Nathaniel Award. In 2017 she was awarded the New York State Defenders Association Wilfred R. O'Connor Award.