The judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York have selected Jennifer Willis, a former federal defender who led a litigation-based anti-racism initiative, to serve as the court’s newest magistrate judge in Manhattan.

Willis, a 2000 graduate of New York University School of Law, had served as director of strategic litigation for the Federal Defenders of New York since October 2020. In that role, she coordinated trainings and court filings aimed at addressing systemic racial disparities in criminal cases.