Attorney in Charge - CAFL Northampton

The Children and Family Law Division is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Attorney in Charge of the Amherst/Northampton Trial Office. The Attorney in Charge will manage CAFL’s Amherst/Northampton Office and represent a small caseload of individual clients.  S/he/they will also play a leadership role in CPCS’s efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases.

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

CPCS is seeking an experienced attorney to lead the Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) office in Amherst/Northampton.  CAFL provides legal representation and advocacy throughout Massachusetts to children and indigent parents in care and protection, child requiring assistance, and termination of parental rights cases and to children in guardianship-of-a-minor cases.  The Attorney in Charge will manage CAFL’s Northampton Office and represent a small caseload of individual clients.  S/he/they will also play a leadership role in CPCS’s efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases.

What CAFL does:

Through a robust team of public defenders which include attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and administrative support staff, CAFL works to defend the rights of families to be free from governmental interference.  Our teams of dedicated advocates come to work every day with a purposeful desire to defend the rights of the families in Massachusetts.

Who are we looking for:

The ideal candidate for this position will demonstrate a deep connection to CPCS’s mission of client centric, inclusive public defense in an atmosphere of courage, accountability, respect, and excellence.

S/he/they will be an experienced manager who excels at supporting, mentoring, and motivating legal and other office staff; developing processes that facilitate the efficient and effective delivery of legal services by staff; and leading teams that work closely with children, parents and caretakers who are experiencing governmental interference.

Opportunities and Challenges facing the Amherst/Northampton Attorney in Charge

The CAFL Amherst/Northampton Trial Office presents a number of exciting opportunities and challenges for the next Attorney in Charge (“AIC”).  S/he/they will directly supervise the office’s Administrative Assistant as well as the Trial Attorneys to ensure a smooth running and high functioning law office.  The AIC will carry a small caseload of clients, including both parent and child clients.

The duties of the AIC encompass leading and nurturing a skilled, effective, and dedicated legal team that values diversity, collaboration, and creativity.  The AIC will succeed in this role by providing consistent, clear communication that builds trust and promotes team morale and transparency among a diverse group of attorneys, social workers, and administrative staff.  It is critical that the AIC is able to foster a work environment that is supportive, equitable, and inclusive and upholds the principles of anti-oppression for both clients and staff.  Conducting investigations into client complaints on staff performance or professionalism is also required.

The key to being able to thrive in this role is being able to balance collaboration and seeking input with strong decision making and execution skills.  The ability to identify systemic barriers prohibiting clients from obtaining their goals and developing strategies for addressing these barriers will allow the AIC to live and breathe the goals of supporting CPCS’s work to reflect the communities and families it serves and build a culture of inclusion, continuous learning, and trust.

The AIC will need to routinely evaluate and refine existing processes and tools to deliver high quality representation and regularly review, understand, and thoughtfully implement new agency initiatives by gathering, analyzing, and reporting data.  The AIC will provide training, supervision, and evaluation of the attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and administrative support staff.  S/he/they will support and assist the CPCS Training Department, attend and actively participate in CAFL Administration meetings and agency-wide management meetings. The AIC will also work closely with the CAFL Director of Social Work, CAFL Private Panel Director, CAFL Director of Appeals, the CPCS Human Resources Unit, and other external stakeholders in the child welfare system.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Management and Leadership Responsibilities:

-Training, supervising, and evaluating trial attorneys;
-Supervising support staff and assisting with the supervision of a staff social worker;
-Assigning cases and other work within the office;
-Managing work flow for paralegals
-Generating management reports;
-Attending meetings with CAFL administrative staff and staff in other CAFL offices to discuss management issues and child welfare policy and practice issues;
-Assisting attorneys in other CAFL offices;
-Helping private attorneys through trainings and providing technical assistance;
-Developing and maintaining working relationships with local courts, bar associations, CAFL Resource Attorneys, the -------Department of Children and Families, along with other organizations and individuals working in child welfare law;
Identifying systemic problems and developing strategies for addressing those problems; and,
Identifying and creating professional development opportunities for trial office attorneys and support staff.

Client Representation Responsibilities:

-Interviewing adult clients;
V-isiting and interviewing child clients;
-Pre-trial investigation and discovery, including locating and interviewing witnesses, reviewing documentary evidence, and consulting with experts and other service providers;
-Legal research and writing;
-Representing clients in pretrial proceedings, hearings, trials, and interlocutory appeals;
-Advocating with DCF and other providers for appropriate services for clients and other family members; and,
-Coordinating advocacy with CAFL social work staff.

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]