The Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking to fill an Attorney in Charge position in the Roxbury Defenders office in Suffolk County.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MISSION STATEMENT
CPCS is committed to protecting the fundamental constitutional and human rights of its clients by providing zealous advocacy, community-oriented defense, and excellent representation. In fulfilling its mission, CPCS is committed to fostering diversity at all levels of the agency. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. In striving always to achieve those goals, CPCS embraces diversity and inclusion as core values and is steadfast in our commitment to: (1) ensuring that CPCS management and staff members represent a broad range of human difference and experience; (2) providing a work climate that is respectful and that supports success; and (3) promoting the dignity and well-being of all staff members. CPCS's leadership is responsible for ensuring excellence, diversity, and inclusion. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking to fill an Attorney in Charge position in the Roxbury Defenders office in Suffolk County.
The Attorney in Charge will lead the office under the new office unification model.
The Attorney in Charge supervises and assists trial attorneys in the development of trial strategies, motions practice, and a myriad of other tasks that trial lawyers must undertake. The Attorney in Charge is also responsible for supervising the supervising staff attorneys and the non-attorney staff in the office. The Attorney in Charge also represents clients with a reduced caseload, consistent with managerial duties and consistent with the obligations and responsibilities of a staff trial attorney or appellate attorney.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Attorney in Charge must be able to supervise and assist trial attorneys in the development of trial strategies, motions practice, and myriad other tasks that trial lawyers must undertake. The Attorney in Charge is also responsible for the supervision of the non-attorney staff in the office.
The administrative responsibilities of the Attorney in Charge include:
- Being thoroughly knowledgeable of the Committee’s personnel policies, communicating the provisions of those policies to
staff, and ensuring compliance with the personnel policies;
- Being thoroughly knowledgeable with the CPCS case management system, including being able to generate and interpret
case statistics and reports;
- Ensuring that attorneys’ schedules and caseloads are reasonable and conform with CPCS performance standards and
guidelines and practice advisories;
- Ensuring files are properly maintained and scanned at the conclusion of the case;
- Assigning all cases;
- Ensuring cases are promptly opened and closed;
- Ensuring detailed running sheets for each case are electronically maintained;
- Ensuring monthly case statistics are maintained;
- Ensuring conflicts of interest are promptly discovered and reassigned; and,
- Ensuring annual performance evaluations are completed in a timely and comprehensive manner.
Additionally, the Attorney in Charge is expected to ensure that:
- Information about cases, law, CPCS policies and practices, and other relevant matters is disseminated to attorneys in a
timely manner;
- Ongoing in-house training is provided to attorneys; and,
- Positive relationships are fostered within the community and the courthouses and that a professional relationship and
leadership role is maintained with the assigned private bar in the county.
The Attorney in Charge must also attend regular meetings with other office heads, Managing Directors, and the Deputy Chief Counsel to discuss management and policy issues. The Attorney in Charge will be directly supervised by a Managing Director.
EEO Statement
The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran or military status, genetic information, gender identity, or sexual orientation as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other applicable federal and state statutes and organizational policies. Applicants who have questions about equal employment opportunity or who need reasonable accommodations can contact the Director of Human Resources Management, Lisa Bacon, at [email protected]
MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
The following attributes are required for the position of Attorney in Charge:
- Eligible to practice law in this jurisdiction as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, or as an attorney in
another jurisdiction who is eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
and,
- A minimum of seven years experience handling criminal cases, at least four of which were as assigned counsel for indigent
persons in criminal cases.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
- Significant Superior Court or equivalent jury trial experience; and,
- Administrative and managerial skills and supervisory experience.
Candidates should submit a letter of interest, résumé and writing sample. The letter of interest should include a description of the candidate's trial, supervisory, and administrative or management experience, as well as a discussion of his/her priorities and vision for leading the office.