Six attorneys have been tapped by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve as assistant counsels in his office, each with a different focus ranging from matters involving local government to housing and civil rights issues. 

Some of those attorneys already have experience in state government, while others come to the Cuomo administration from roles with national exposure, or a local focus in New York.

"Each of these individuals brings a depth of knowledge and experience that will be an enormous benefit to the people of the state," Cuomo said. "We have a phenomenal team in place and these new additions will play an integral role in advancing our bold, progressive agenda and delivering even more results in the year ahead."

Jill Starishevsky, who worked in the Bronx District Attorney's Office for more than two decades, is Cuomo's new assistant counsel for public safety. Starishevsky was a senior trial assistant in the Bronx, where she prosecuted thousands of cases involving sexual assault, child sex abuse, homicide and other violent crimes.

Aside from her work as a prosecutor, Starishevsky also created a children's book and animated video that's intended to educate children about sexual abuse. The book, "My Body Belongs to Me," was written by Starishevsky with a goal of preventing future child sex abuse.

Craig Herskowitz, a former federal prosecutor, was chosen as Cuomo's new assistant counsel for taxation and financial services. He was most recently an associate director at Standard Chartered Bank and previously worked as a senior compliance officer at JPMorgan Chase.

Before he entered the private sector, Herskowitz was a senior forfeiture attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice for six years. He also was a forfeiture attorney with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Herskowitz, while serving in the federal government, handled cases involving the prosecution of drug traffickers and recovered losses for victims of financial crimes. Some of the latter work involved the Bernie Madoff securities fraud scheme and the Enron scandal. 

Jillian Faison, one of Cuomo's appointees with experience in state government, will serve as the new assistant counsel for human services. She was most recently the director of legislation and intergovernmental affairs for the state Office of Children and Family Services. 

Faison's been with OCFS for nearly two years, during which she's focused on issues such as child care and juvenile justice. The agency has been involved in the state's implementation of Raise the Age, which removed 16- and 17-year-olds from the adult criminal justice system. 

Before her time with the agency, Faison was director of intergovernmental affairs at Housing Works, a nonprofit in New York City that focuses on issues related to homelessness and people living with AIDS. According to Cuomo's office, Faison was involved in securing a plan to bolster the state's efforts against HIV in recent years. 

Faison also was an assistant county attorney in the Albany County Attorney's Office. While there, she created a program to allow juvenile offenders to pay restitution to victims while also learning employment-related skills. She previously worked for United Federation of Teachers, a teachers union in New York City.

Joshua Norkin, who developed a national model for challenging restrictive criminal justice laws, was chosen as Cuomo's new assistant counsel for housing and civil rights. Norkin was previously with the Legal Aid Society for more than eight years.

While at the Legal Aid Society, Norkin launched the Decarceration Project, an advocacy tool that's used to challenge the use of cash bail and pretrial incarceration in New York. The tool has become a national model for attorneys focused on criminal justice reform and was recognized by the American Bar Association in 2017 as an Exemplary Indigent Defense Project.

Norkin was previously an appellate attorney for the Legal Aid Society's Criminal Appeals Bureau and a staff attorney in the society's Bronx trial office. He was previously in private practice as a solo practitioner.

Paul Midey, who was an attorney for the New York State Senate for six years, is Cuomo's new assistant counsel for transportation. Midey was an attorney for the Senate when the chamber was controlled by Republicans. He helped negotiate several initiatives in his time there, like an $830 million action plan for the New York City Subway. 

Midey was previously an associate attorney for Cote & Van Dyke LLP in Syracuse and worked as a law clerk in the New York Attorney General's Office and the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office.

Valerie Lubanko was elevated from her position as counsel for requests made to Cuomo's office under the Freedom of Information Law to assistant counsel for local government. She was previously first assistant corporation counsel for the city of Albany and also served as assistant town attorney for the town of Colonie in Albany County. 

Cuomo also announced on Monday that Rebecca Wood, most recently general counsel for the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, was selected to serve as a deputy special counsel. Wood previously was first assistant counsel for the state Senate.

Cuomo, in September, hired Kumiki Gibson and Elizabeth Garvey as his new top attorneys after his previous counsel, Alphonso David, departed to lead the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy and legal rights group.

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