MMR - FY20 - Law Department

• Page Type:: Document Section
• Parent Document:: Mayor's Management Report - Fiscal Year 2020
• Content::
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    • {{pdf: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/operations/downloads/pdf/mmr2020/law.pdf }}
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    • LAW DEPARTMENT
    • James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel
    • LAW DEPARTMENT | Page 89
    • WHAT WE DO
    • The Law Department is responsible
    • for all of the legal matters affecting
    • the City. The Department represents
    • the City, the Mayor, other elected
    • officials and the City’s agencies in
    • all affirmative and defensive civil
    • litigation. The Department represents
    • the City in juvenile delinquency
    • prosecutions brought in Family
    • Court and Administrative Code
    • enforcement proceedings brought
    • in Criminal Court. Law Department
    • attorneys draft and review local
    • and state legislation, real estate
    • leases, procurement contracts and
    • financial instruments for the sale of
    • municipal bonds. The Department
    • also provides legal counsel to City
    • officials on a wide range of issues
    • such as civil rights, education,
    • intellectual property, land use and
    • environmental policy.
    • FOCUS ON EQUITY
    • The Law Department’s lawyers and support professionals work collaboratively
    • to pursue justice while providing the City with the highest quality legal
    • representation. Department staff are expected to treat all whom they encounter
    • in litigation with professionalism, respect and empathy, even as they vigorously
    • pursue all appropriate legal defenses and claims in the best interests of the City.
    • The Department acts to ensure that unrepresented claimants are treated fairly,
    • explaining in plain language discovery orders and other documents. The Family
    • Court Division conducts outreach to victims in delinquency cases to ensure that
    • they are offered necessary services and personal protection, at the same time
    • that it advocates dispositional alternatives that rehabilitate young offenders in
    • a manner consistent with public safety. The Department also brings affirmative
    • litigation that advances vital interests of the City and works with other agencies to
    • manage the risks involved in large scale and widespread government operations.
    • The Law Department advises agency clients on a wide range of issues affecting
    • public safety and welfare, including the areas of education, health, environment,
    • economic development and law enforcement operations. Department attorneys
    • play an important role in drafting legislation that advances significant City policies,
    • including the protection of the civil rights of its residents.
    • OUR SERVICES AND GOALS
    • SERVICE 1 Represent the City of New York in litigation and other legal
    • matters involving the City’s interests.
    • Goal 1a Limit the City’s liability as a result of claims.
    • Goal 1b Reduce the City’s caseload in state court.
    • Goal 1c Reduce the City’s caseload in federal court.
    • SERVICE 2 Prosecute juvenile delinquency cases in Family Court.
    • Goal 2a Balance the needs of juveniles and the community in delinquency
    • cases.
    • SERVICE 3 Establish and enforce child support orders in interstate
    • cases.
    • Goal 3a Increase the percentage of out-of-state families that receive child
    • support.
    • Page 90 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
    • HOW WE PERFORMED IN FISCAL 2020
    • SERVICE 1 Represent the City of New York in litigation and other legal matters involving the
    • City’s interests.
    • Goal 1a Limit the City’s liability as a result of claims.
    • In Fiscal 2020, the payout for judgments and claims brought against the City in state and federal court decreased 1 percent
    • compared to the same period of Fiscal 2019. This decrease is attributable, in part, to the City’s diligent and consistent
    • resolution of its legacy cases and there are many fewer left, resulting in lower payouts.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • « Total citywide payout for judgments and claims ($000) $655,873 $722,046 $674,001 $642,112 $636,961 ò ò Neutral Down
    • « Total cases commenced against the City 9,507 8,141 8,219 8,598 7,468 * * Down *
    • – Cases commenced against the City in state court 8,009 7,132 7,367 7,816 6,805 7,600 7,600 Neutral *
    • – Cases commenced against the City in federal court 1,498 1,009 852 782 663 1,050 1,050 Down *
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Goal 1b Reduce the City’s caseload in state court.
    • In Fiscal 2020, cases commenced in federal court decreased 15 percent, while cases pending in state court decreased by
    • three percent. Fewer summary judgement motions were made due to the COVID-19 crisis. Since all agencies were and still
    • are mostly working from home, there was inability to obtain the necessary affidavits and perform the necessary searches,
    • which are requisite to making the motions.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • « Cases pending in state court 21,452 20,667 21,630 22,611 21,858 23,700 23,700 Neutral Down
    • – Cases pending on trial calendar 2,425 2,441 2,337 1,898 2,059 2,700 2,700 Down *
    • Affirmative motions to dismiss or for summary judgment 1,516 1,648 1,713 1,461 1,131 * * Down *
    • « Win rate on affirmative motions (%) 75% 76% 71% 72% 74% 78% 78% Neutral Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Goal 1c Reduce the City’s caseload in federal court.
    • The Special Federal Litigation Division’s assertive approach to motion practice and trials resulted in favorable verdicts,
    • dismissals and discontinuances that were nearly 25 percent of all actions commenced in federal court in Fiscal 2020,
    • continuing the significant percentage of dismissals and discontinuances for actions commenced during Fiscal 2019. This
    • approach, together with the consequent settlement of actions, resulted in a 7 percent decrease in City cases pending in
    • federal court to 814 for Fiscal 2020, compared to 877 for the same period of the previous year. These successful litigation
    • outcomes have likely discouraged the filing of meritless claims and contributed to a 15 percent decline in new federal
    • court filings in Fiscal 2020.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • « Cases pending in federal court 1,649 1,363 1,049 877 814 1,150 1,150 Down Down
    • Dismissals and discontinuances 243 280 273 262 166 * * Down Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • LAW DEPARTMENT | Page 91
    • SERVICE 2 Prosecute juvenile delinquency cases in Family Court.
    • Goal 2a Balance the needs of juveniles and the community in delinquency cases.
    • Referred cases filed for prosecution in Family Court decreased eight percent in Fiscal 2020 compared to the prior fiscal year.
    • This change is attributable, in part to a greater percentage of cases being diverted from prosecution as well as Family Court
    • having limited the filing of cases during the pandemic to essential matters which has been defined by the Family Court as
    • only cases where the youth was in detention.
    • The juvenile conviction rate kept par with the prior fiscal year for the majority of Fiscal 2020 though, due to the pandemic
    • where proceedings were limited to only essential matters, the fiscal year ended, in total with a 5 percent decline in this area.
    • The percentage of crime victims referred for community-based services increased 9 points in Fiscal 2020, compared to the
    • same period in the prior fiscal year, as a result of continued increased efforts aimed at ensuring victims are apprised of the
    • services available to them.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • Referred cases filed for prosecution (%) 54% 50% 44% 38% 30% 55% 55% Down *
    • Juvenile conviction rate (%) 76% 75% 77% 73% 68% 75% 75% Neutral *
    • « Juveniles successfully referred to a diversion program with no
    • new delinquency referral within one year (%) 81% 81% 86% 86% 87% 75% 75% Neutral Up
    • Crime victims referred for community-based services (%) 53% 46% 46% 57% 66% 45% 45% Up Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • SERVICE 3 Establish and enforce child support orders in interstate cases.
    • Goal 3a Increase the percentage of out-of-state families that receive child support.
    • The filing of enforcement referrals within 60 days of referral decreased six percentage points to 93 percent compared with
    • Fiscal 2019, due in part to a significant increase in the number of applicable cases as compared with the prior period. During
    • the latter part of Fiscal 20, additional resources were allocated to helping to address the change in volume.
    • In Fiscal 2019, 71 percent of families entitled to a support order received one. That number decreased to 66 percent in
    • Fiscal 2020. This decrease was due, in part, to external limitations related to the facilitation of support orders.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • Filing of enforcement referrals within 60 days of referral (%) 95% 96% 96% 99% 93% 90% 90% Neutral Up
    • « Families entitled to a support order that get a support order
    • (%) 71% 70% 70% 71% 66% 65% 65% Neutral Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • AGENCY CUSTOMER SERVICE
    • Performance Indicators Actual Target Trend
    • Customer Experience FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • Completed requests for interpretation 1,002 875 883 1,198 1,095 * * Up *
    • Letters responded to in 14 days (%) 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% * * Neutral Up
    • E-mails responded to in 14 days (%) 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% * * Neutral Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Page 92 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
    • AGENCY RESOURCES
    • Resource Indicators Actual¹ Plan²
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5yr Trend
    • Expenditures ($000,000)³ $194.4 $218.8 $227.2 $254.1 $277.8 $278.9 $246.5 Up
    • Revenues ($000,000) $42.7 $28.5 $22.5 $48.4 $38.0 $30.3 $21.3 Up
    • Personnel 1,591 1,760 1,743 1,875 1,809 2,027 1,913 Up
    • Overtime paid ($000) $1,372 $1,363 $1,187 $2,360 $2,380 $2,340 $2,131 Up
    • ¹Actual financial amounts for the current fiscal year are not yet final. Final fiscal year actuals, from the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be reported
    • in the next PMMR. Refer to the “Indicator Definitions” at nyc.gov/mmr for details. ²Authorized Budget Level ³Expenditures include all funds
    • “NA” - Not Available * None
    • SPENDING AND BUDGET INFORMATION
    • Where possible, the relationship between an agency’s goals and its expenditures and planned resources, by budgetary unit
    • of appropriation (UA), is shown in the ‘Applicable MMR Goals’ column. Each relationship is not necessarily exhaustive or
    • exclusive. Any one goal may be connected to multiple UAs, and any UA may be connected to multiple goals.
    • Unit of Appropriation
    • Expenditures
    • FY19¹
    • ($000,000)
    • Modified Budget
    • FY20²
    • ($000,000) Applicable MMR Goals³
    • 001 - Personal Services $151.7 $161.6 All
    • 002 - Other Than Personal Services $102.4 $116.2 All
    • Agency Total $254.1 $277.8
    • ¹Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2019. Includes all funds. ²City of New York Adopted Budget for Fiscal 2020, as of June
    • 2020. Includes all funds. ³Refer to agency goals listed at front of chapter. “NA” Not Available * None
    • NOTEWORTHY CHANGES, ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS !
    • • Due to data lags during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Letters responded to in 14 days (%)” was calculated using only the
    • first six months of Fiscal 2020. The remaining data will be revised in the Preliminary Fiscal 2021 Mayor’s Management
    • Report.
    • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
    • For more information on the agency, please visit: www.nyc.gov/law.