The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the public defender agency for Massachusetts, seeks attorneys to represent children and parents in child welfare cases. CPCS provides legal representation for those unable to afford an attorney. The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) provides legal representation to children and indigent parents in child welfare matters, including care and protection (C&P) proceedings, children requiring assistance (CRA) cases, actions to terminate parental rights, guardianship-of-a-minor cases, and any other child custody proceeding where the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a party or where the court is considering granting custody to DCF.
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.
OVERVIEW
CAFL’s legal advocacy plays a critical role in cases that affect families. For a parent involved in a C&P case, having a skilled CAFL lawyer may mean the difference between the family’s reunification and the termination of parental rights – the “death penalty of family law.” For a teenager who is the subject of a truancy CRA case, CAFL’s advocacy may secure the special education services that enable the client to succeed in school and avoid being placed in a foster home. For siblings looking for stability after the court has freed them for adoption, a CAFL attorney will fight to ensure that they are provided a permanent home – one that allows them to stay together.
New Trial Attorneys in the CAFL Offices begin their CPCS career with a nationally recognized, comprehensive, skills-based training course to ensure they are ready to represent their clients to their full capabilities. Continuing legal education programs for new and experienced Trial Attorneys are held periodically to ensure that our Trial Attorneys are up to date on the law and have the skills necessary to provide zealous representation to their clients.
The Children and Family Law Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services is seeking Trial Attorneys to provide child welfare representation. Attorneys interested in applying for these positions are invited to submit an application, as further described below.
We will be prioritizing recruiting and hiring in our Springfield, Northampton/Amherst, and Pittsfield Offices.
Positions will be filled as our FY21 & FY22 budgets allow. This posting does not guarantee that we will be filling Trial Attorney positions.
These positions have an expected start date in late August/early September 2021.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Client interviews
- Arraignment and bail advocacy
- Legal research and writing
- Pretrial investigation including visiting crime scenes, locating and interviewing witnesses, collecting and reviewing documentary evidence
- Preparing and arguing pretrial motions, affidavits and legal memoranda;
-Dispositional investigations and advocacy
- Jury and bench trials of criminal cases
-Representation of clients in interlocutory proceedings
- Where appropriate, work collaboratively with private attorneys on cases assigned through the Private Counsel Division of CPCS
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
- A Trial Attorney must be committed to serving a culturally diverse, low income population and must be eligible to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar, as a law school graduate under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03, or as an attorney licensed in another jurisdiction who is covered by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04. A recent law school graduate who is ineligible to practice under SJC Rule 3:03 will be hired as a paralegal with the understanding that they will be promoted to attorney status once admitted to practice in Massachusetts;
-All Trial Attorney positions require travel; access to reliable transportation throughout the state is necessary.
-Access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.
To apply, please submit a resume and personal mission statement of no more than two pages detailing your interest in the position, your personal qualities, background, and skills, and what you hope to achieve in your work.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
-Foreign language skills are desirable;
-Trial experience in termination of parental rights cases as counsel for a parent and/or as counsel for a child or children is preferred;
-A demonstrated commitment to the principle of zealous advocacy in the representation of indigent persons in child welfare cases;
-Strong interpersonal and analytical skills;
-Ability to work in a community and defense-oriented capacity, both independently and collaboratively.
To apply, please go to; https://careers-publiccounsel.icims.com/jobs/1932/2021-children-%26-fami...?
NLADA Mutual Insurance Co., RRG
