The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the public defender agency for Massachusetts, is seeking an Attorney in Charge for its Family Justice Advocates (FJA) office in Springfield, Massachusetts. FJA is CPCS’s Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) “conflicts office” in Springfield; FJA also has an office in Springfield. The Attorney in Charge will lead and supervise a multidisciplinary team in providing high quality representation to children and parents in family regulation cases.
We fight for equal justice and human dignity by supporting our clients in achieving their legal and life goals. We zealously advocate for the rights of individuals and promote just public policy to protect the rights of all.
Our Values
Courage • Accountability • Respect • Excellence
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MISSION STATEMENT
CPCS is committed to protecting the fundamental constitutional and human rights of our assigned clients through zealous advocacy, community-oriented defense, and the fullness of excellent legal representation. We are dedicated to building and maintaining strong professional relationships, while striving to accept, listen to and respect the diverse circumstances of each client, as we dedicate ourselves to meeting their individual needs. It is our CPCS mission to achieve these goals, and in furtherance thereof, we embrace and endorse diversity, equity and inclusion as our core values as we maintain a steadfast commitment to: (1) Ensure that CPCS management and staff members represent a broad range of human differences and experience; (2) Provide a work climate that is respectful and supports success; and (3) Promote the dignity and well-being of all staff members. CPCS leadership is responsible for ensuring equity, diversity, and inclusion. The ability to achieve these goals with any level of certainty is ultimately the responsibility of each member of the CPCS community.
AGENCY OVERVIEW
CPCS is the state agency in Massachusetts responsible for providing an attorney when the state or federal constitution or a state statute requires the appointment of an attorney for a person who cannot afford to retain one. The agency provides representation in criminal, delinquency, youthful offender, family regulation, guardianship, mental health, sexually dangerous person, and sex offender registry cases, as well as in appeals and post-conviction and post-judgment proceedings related to those matters.
The clients we represent are diverse across every context imaginable and bring many unique cultural dimensions to the matters we address. This reality creates a critical need for CPCS staff to be culturally competent and able to work well with people of different races, ethnicities, genders and/or sexual orientation identities, abilities, and limited English proficiency, among other protected characteristics.
OFFICE OVERVIEW
Family Justice Advocates is CAFL’s “conflicts trial office,” located in Springfield, Massachusetts. FJA provides legal representation to children and indigent parents and guardians in family regulation cases in which (a) a CAFL staff attorney in a non-conflict office has been appointed to another party to the case or (b) a conflict of interest prevents CAFL staff attorneys in non-conflict offices from representing any party in the case. For example, an attorney in FJA may be appointed to represent a parent in the same case in which a staff attorney in CAFL’s existing Springfield trial office represents a child. Alternatively, an attorney in FJA may be appointed to represent a party in a case in which CAFL’s existing Springfield trial office attorneys are unable to represent any party because of conflicts relating to a current or former client of a CPCS staff attorney. FJA is considered a separate law firm from all other CPCS offices for conflict of interest purposes. To this end, it has a separate managerial system, separate physical offices and computer/technology systems, and other mechanisms in place to ensure its separation for conflicts purposes from other CPCS offices.
All CAFL trial offices, including FJA offices, are robust defender teams, including attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and administrative support staff. They provide legal representation and advocacy throughout Massachusetts to children and indigent parents in care and protection, child requiring assistance, termination of parental rights, and guardianship-of-a-minor cases, as well as other types of custody and adoption proceedings. Team members work diligently to help and support FJA clients to achieve their legal and life goals.
The office is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the third largest city in Massachusetts, is located in Western Massachusetts along the Connecticut River. It is centrally located: Northampton is 25 minutes away, Hartford is 27 minutes away, Worcester is 55 minutes away, Boston is 90 minutes away, and New York City is 2 ½ hours away. Springfield is the birthplace of basketball and the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Several top colleges and universities are close by, and the City hosts many parks and museums, including “The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum” (Dr. Seuss, otherwise known as Theodore Geisel, was born in Springfield). Springfield is home of the Springfield Thunderbirds hockey team (American Hockey League) and the Western Mass. Zombies (East Coast Basketball League), and is within a short drive to many farms and orchards.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Attorney in Charge (AIC) oversees the Family Justice Advocates Springfield trial office to fully address the legal needs of the office’s clients as well as representing individual clients. The AIC plays a significant leadership role by managing the local office, helping with the management of FJA as a whole, representing individual clients, and working closely with the private bar and Hamden County courts to build a strong community of family regulation defenders.
The AIC must 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.
The AIC will report directly to the Family Justice Advocates Managing Director. The AIC will be expected to participate in regular meetings with other FJA AICs, the local CAFL Resource Attorneys, and the CAFL management team. The AIC also will collaborate extensively with private assigned counsel.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Management and Leadership Responsibilities:
Training, supervising, and evaluating Supervising Staff Attorneys and Trial Attorneys;
Supervising support staff, paralegal staff, and assisting with the supervision of a staff Social Worker;
Assigning cases and other work within the office;
Generating management reports;
Attending meetings with CAFL/FJA administrative staff and staff in other CAFL/FJA offices to discuss management issues and child welfare policy and practice issues;
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, and other organizations and individuals working on family regulation matters;
Identifying systemic problems and developing strategies for addressing those problems;
Identifying and creating professional development opportunities for trial office attorneys and support staff; and,
Other duties as assigned.
Client Representation Responsibilities:
Interviewing adult clients;
Visiting 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 and FJA social work staff.
MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
Eligible to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing or as a member of the bar in another jurisdiction eligible to engage in the practice of law under SJC rule 3:04;
A minimum of seven years’ experience as an attorney, including at least 5 years handling family regulation cases;
Have access to transportion in order to travel to courts, clients, and other locations not easily accessible by public transportation; and,
Have access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
The ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:
Commitment to serving low-income, diverse populations;
Experience successfully employing an anti-racist/anti-oppression lens to ensure a diverse, equitable working environment, including collaboration with coworkers to create diverse teams that reflect the communities served;
Success at leading, managing, developing, and directing high-energy legal teams, as well as other managerial experience;
Ability to model best practices for the representation of children, parents, and other caretakers in accordance with CPCS Performance Standards;
Desire and proven ability to promote client empowerment;
Experience working with clients of all ages, races, and backgrounds, including but not limited to LGBTQIA clients, survivors of trauma, people with disabilities, indigent clients, and other vulnerable populations;
Superb organizational skills and time-management abilities, including the ability to handle and manage a variety of priorities;
Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
Ability to understand and handle sensitive and confidential information;
High-level writing, analytical, and oral advocacy skills; and,
Ability to maintain the optimism, humor, integrity, patience, and perseverance necessary to ensure that office staff provide clients with high quality legal services.
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 interim Director of Human Resources Management.
To be considered for this position, please apply at: https://careers-publiccounsel.icims.com/jobs/2501/attorney-in-charge---f...