Carrie Lee named director of Juvenile Justice Center at Barry Law School

Carrie Lee, a longtime child advocate, has been promoted to director of the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) at Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law. Prior to this appointment Lee served as the staff attorney for the JJC.

As director, Lee will continue the work of the Center creating systemic change in the quality of representation of children in the delinquency court. She will also be spearheading the implementation of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Models for Change pilot projects in Florida.

Prior to joining the Juvenile Justice Center, Lee’s commitment to children’s representation developed while working for four years with children in delinquency court as a lead attorney with the Juvenile Division of the Orange and Osceola County Public Defender’s office. She was also employed as an attorney for the Department of Children and Families.

Lee began as an investigator for the Office of the Public Defender in the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida at the age of 18. After law school, she worked for the Office of the Public Defender in the Ninth Judicial Circuit performing in all aspects of criminal defense including felony, misdemeanor and appeals for more than six years. In this position, she helped create a project that provides immediate assistance for those arrested and incarcerated.

Barry University’s Juvenile Justice Center works to create reform in Florida’s juvenile justice field with an emphasis on improving the quality of representation of children in the delinquency system; lasting positive impacts in legislation; and a vision that juvenile delinquency representation is a specialized discipline. The Center provides training and technical assistance to attorneys who represent children in delinquency proceedings as well as judges and probation officers throughout Florida. The Center also provides consulting services and other resources to public defender offices in Florida.