PILC is thrilled to welcome Deirdre von Dornum and Heidi Gilchrist as our newest counselors!
Deirdre von Dornum
Deirdre von Dornum is the new Assistant Dean for Public Service. She joined NYU School of Law from the Federal Defenders of New York, where she served from 2002 to 2013, first as an Assistant Federal Defender in the Southern and Eastern Districts, and from 2011-2013, as the Deputy Attorney-in-Charge for the Eastern District of New York. At Federal Defenders, Deirdre advocated for indigent clients charged with federal crimes, and handled a wide range of cases from investigation to appeal. She supervised numerous attorneys in trials, hearings, motion practice, sentencing litigation, and client counseling, as well as investigators and social workers in litigation and client support. Deirdre has also co-taught the yearlong Federal Defender Clinic at NYU Law, and taught as a guest lecturer at Columbia Law School in evidence, criminal procedure, and sentencing.
Prior to joining Federal Defenders, Deirdre was a litigation associate at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr in New York, where she specialized in white collar criminal defense and securities litigation. She also did extensive pro bono work during that time, including assisting the Capital Defenders of New York in LaValle v. New York and representing immigrants in proceedings in Immigration Court and before the Second Circuit.
Deirdre earned a B.A. in Classics from the University of California at Los Angeles, a M.A. from Princeton University, where she was a doctoral candidate in Classics, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Review and Essay Editor for the Columbia Law Review. After graduating, she clerked for Judge Anita B. Brody of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court.
Deirdre is available for meetings by appointment or for drop-ins Mondays from 3:30-4:30.
Heidi Gilchrist
Heidi Gilchrist is the Associate Director of Academic Careers Program and Government Service. She also teaches legal writing. She was previously a Managing Editor at Wordsworth Publishing where she wrote and edited legal texts. She was an Analyst for the federal government and served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City. She was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb where she specialized in securities and international law. Ms. Gilchrist served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Patterson in the Southern District of New York from 2001-2002 and was a Fulbright Scholar in Damascus, Syria in 1997 where she studied representations of the law in the modern Arabic novel.
Heidi specializes in government positions and will be available by appointment on Wednesday and Thursdays or for drop-ins on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30.
To schedule an appointment with any of our counselors, please call 212-988-6686. We look forward to seeing you all this semester!