The Mental Health Litigation Division (MHLD) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is seeking a full-time Trial Attorney for civil commitment cases including trials and a limited number of appellate cases for its Roxbury Commitment Unit. This office is responsible for civil commitments filed by Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center, McLean Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and other facilities in the metro-Boston area.
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 Committee for Public Counsel Services (“CPCS”) is Massachusetts’ public defender agency providing legal representation for those unable to afford an attorney. The Mental Health Litigation Division is committed to protecting the legal and constitutional rights of citizens facing civil commitment to mental hospitals, guardianships, and involuntary treatment including the administration of antipsychotic medications. Mental Health Litigation Division Trial Attorneys receive training in issues relating to mental health and the statutory and constitutional rights of our clients.
The Mental Health Litigation Division (MHLD) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is seeking an experienced, full-time Trial Attorney for civil commitment cases including trials and a limited number of appellate cases for its Roxbury Commitment Unit.
Mental Health Litigation Division Trial Attorneys provide zealous representation in mental health cases, primarily to indigent persons in proceedings seeking the initial commitment to, continued confinement at, or authorization to treat by, psychiatric facilities operated by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, Department of Mental Health (DMH) and private psychiatric facilities licensed by DMH. Attorneys will appear primarily in District and Municipal Court sessions conducted at facilities for which the Unit is responsible or in Superior Court divisions within the county in which the facilities are located, but may be required to represent clients in proceedings emanating from other facilities and conducted in other courts of the Commonwealth. Trial Attorneys may also represent clients in appeals to the Appellate Divisions of the District and Municipal Courts.
The clients we represent are diverse across many contexts including race, nationality, gender and religion. They bring many unique cultural dimensions to the matters we address. This reality creates a critical need for CPCS attorneys to be culturally competent and able to work well with people of different races, ethnicities, abilities, gender identities and gender expressions and people with limited English proficiency, among other characteristics.
RESPONSIBILITIES
To that end, Trial Attorneys will be expected to:
-Visit with and interview clients at the facilities;
-Conduct pre-trial investigation and discovery, including reviewing facility and other medical and psychiatric records, and interviewing facility staff;
-Work extensively with forensic psychiatric and psychological clinicians;
-Locate and interview witnesses and consult with service providers;
-Conduct legal research and writing; and,
-Represent clients in pretrial proceedings, hearings, and interlocutory appeals.
-Trial Attorneys will be supervised by and report to the Commitment Unit Attorney in Charge.
MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
-Applicants 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 or as an attorney licensed in another jurisdiction who is covered by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
-All Trial Attorney positions require travel; access to reliable transportation throughout the commonwealth is necessary; and,
-Access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
-Foreign language skills to support interaction with limited English proficient groups in the region are desirable;
-Trial experience in mental health cases is preferred;
-Strong interpersonal and analytical skills; and,
-Ability to work in a community and defense-oriented capacity, both independently and collaboratively.
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]
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