PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release on May 16, 2006

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150
William.Smith@rcda.nyc.gov

New York City Bar 2006 Diversity Champion Award:
District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.

Courtesy New York City Bar

Overview:
Since taking office as Richmond County District Attorney in 2004, Daniel Donovan has made it his mission to raise the standards of the office and better reflect the Staten Island community they represent. As a result of his personal involvement in the recruiting and professional activities of his office, he has achieved striking results both in terms of the diversity of his office and its record in court.

Donovan understood upon taking office that to be more successful they must better reflect and understand the community they serve. He respected the careers of personnel within the office and recognized that he must set high standards for performance. By drawing on a more diverse pool of applicants, individuals with extraordinary qualifications have become available to the office. Donovan views diversity as more than demographics. He views it as a means of attracting more talented applicants and better serving the community. He celebrates the life experiences and challenges overcome by those he has hired and believes that these diverse backgrounds enable prosecutors better to meet the demands of their office.

Donovan takes a direct interest in hiring by attending job fairs, reviewing applications, and interviewing all candidates. He attends events where he can learn and network, such as personally participating in the National Black Prosecutors Conference and Job Fair.

Donovan is also personally involved in the mentoring, development and training of all the attorneys. He attends part of every trial, generally both openings and summations. He meets with each attorney at the culmination of each trial whether it was won or lost. He has an open door policy for attorneys at all levels. Donovan emphasizes advancement from within, filling all vacancies with internal candidates, including naming the first African-American bureau chief in Staten Island’s history.
Donovan has utilized the newly added attorneys from diverse backgrounds and with relevant language skills to reach out to previously underserved immigrant communities. The outreach efforts recognize that it can be more comfortable for some individuals to participate in forums in their native language about criminal justice issues and how the justice system works. Having attorneys from different backgrounds helps bridge the culture and language gap to make victims and witnesses more comfortable and more willing to come forward.

Results:
Overall, Donovan was able to alter the complexion of the Richmond County District Attorney’s office while simultaneously improving the felony conviction rate.
     • In the two years prior to Donovan assuming office, all of the eight prosecutors hired were men and        one was a racial/ethnic minority. Over one-third (35%) of Donovan’s new assistant district attorneys        have been racial-ethnic minorities.
     • When Donovan arrived, there were no attorneys on staff that spoke a language other English. His        first two hires were fluent Spanish-speaking women (now there are three), and subsequently he has        added Korean, Hindi, Italian, and Chinese speakers.
     • More than half of the bureau chiefs and deputy bureau chiefs are women; women represent 38        percent of all legal staff. When he joined there were no minorities at this level, and now there is one.        The Richmond County District Attorney’s office led the entire City of New York with a 94.8%        conviction rate for indicted felony cases disposed of in the year 2004, Donovan’s first year in office.        This was significantly ahead of the citywide average of 89.2%. The office continued to lead the City        of New York in 2005. Prior to Donovan’s administration, in 2002 and 2003, Richmond County        ranked fifth in New York City. [Source: State of New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services        (DCJS)]

Success Factors:
     • Hands-on approach to recruiting and hiring staff
     • Focus on best talent
     • Personal involvement in mentoring and development
     • Outreach to diverse communities

Background:
A native Staten Islander with more than 20 years of public service, Daniel M. Donovan Jr. has served as Richmond County District Attorney since January 1, 2004. As District Attorney, Mr. Donovan has launched efforts aimed at prosecuting drunk drivers, graffiti vandals and those who prey on senior citizens and children. He has implemented innovative policies targeting those who possess illegal guns or assault public servants in their line of duty, in addition to targeting domestic violence.

For two years, Mr. Donovan served as Deputy Borough President of Staten Island under Borough President James Molinaro. In his tenure in Borough Hall, Mr. Donovan was responsible for, among many other responsibilities, the reduction of bias incidents. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Donovan spent six years as Chief of Staff to Borough President Guy V. Molinari. Before joining the Borough President’s office, Mr. Donovan served with distinction for eight years in the New York County District Attorney’s Office under Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morganthau, appointed as Deputy Bureau Chief to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.

District Attorney Donovan earned his Juris Doctorate cum laude from Fordham University School of Law in 1988, where he was a member of the Fordham Law Review. Mr. Donovan received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from St. John’s University in Staten Island.

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