Deirdre von Dornum, the new assistant dean for public service at the New York University School of Law, will join the school on Sept. 1 from the Federal Defenders of New York, where she has worked since 2002 and most recently served as its deputy attorney-in-charge for the Eastern District.

"This is an opportunity to encourage hundreds of people to be involved in public service and participate in the sort of work I've been doing for years," von Dornum said in an interview.