Enrico Purita

Enrico has extensive experience working in public defender offices across the state and country. After externships with public defender offices in Los Angeles and Orange County, CA, Enrico worked as a Staff Attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Orange, Inc., representing individuals accused of misdemeanors and felonies in town and village courts in Orange County, New York. From 2018-2023, Enrico worked as a Staff Attorney at The Legal Aid Society in the Criminal Defense Practice in Manhattan, litigating all levels of offenses from the arraignment stage to trial. While at Legal Aid, Enrico also led Staten Island’s Decarceration Project, engaging in complex litigation related to pre-trial detention. He has successfully litigated and argued Writs of Habeas Corpus and Orders to Show Cause in the Appellate Division, Second Department.

Since joining ILS in 2023, Enrico has helped to establish an AI Working Group and co-authored the 2024 Counsel at First Appearance (“CAFA”) Report. As the Litigation Resource Attorney for the Statewide Appellate Support Center, Enrico works to provide resources, trainings, and consultations to litigators across New York State.

Enrico received his JD from the University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2016, where he served as SBA Treasurer and co-founded the UCI chapter of Law Students for Sensible Drug Policy (LSSDP). He is also a graduate of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.