Staff Counsel II - YAD Juvenile Appeals

The Juvenile Appeals Unit of the Youth Advocacy Division is seeking an attorney with appellate experience in juvenile delinquency law and appeals to work with the Director of Juvenile Appeals in maintaining a high-quality appellate unit.

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.

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, child welfare, 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.

DIVISION OVERVIEW

The Youth Advocacy Division (YAD), the juvenile defender department of CPCS, is committed to ensuring that every indigent child in Massachusetts has access to zealous legal representation in delinquency and youthful offender cases from a diverse and ever improving community of juvenile defenders consisting of both private appointed counsel and staff public defenders. YAD provides leadership, training, support, and oversight to the indigent juvenile defense bar in Massachusetts. Each trial office integrates the work of attorneys, a social service advocate, and an administrative assistant to fully address the legal and developmental needs of our clients.

POSITION OVERVIEW

YAD is seeking an attorney with experience in juvenile delinquency law and appeals to work with the Director of Juvenile Appeals, to maintain a high-quality appellate unit within YAD, develop litigation strategies around juvenile-specific issues, and coordinate post-trial litigation assignments.

The Juvenile Appeals Unit of YAD plays an important leadership role in the effort to seek justice for court involved youth.  In furtherance of this mission, the unit is committed to providing our clients with outstanding appellate advocates who are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each client, understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. To further these goals, the unit assigns counsel to represent juveniles in direct appeals, new trial motions, screenings for possible new trial motions and motions to withdraw guilty pleas, and various other post-adjudication matters. The unit provides leadership, training, and support to, and oversight of, these appellate attorneys. The unit works with juvenile defenders around the state to identify important and recurring issues that undermine the quality of justice experienced by court involved youth and their families. The unit also provides leadership, training, and formal and informal assistance to YAD trial attorneys (private and staff) on trial court level cases. The unit also initiates, directs, and coordinates the filing of amicus briefs in cases with significant impact on juvenile law. The unit also collaborates with the Private Counsel’s adult Criminal Post-Conviction and Appeals Unit on emerging adult cases and the Parole Advocacy Unit on parole appeals.

This Staff Counsel II position will be based in either YAD’s Fall River or Boston office with the possibility of working in another YAD location. Location flexibility depends, in part, on the needs of the unit and on available space.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Staff Counsel II will assist the Director of Juvenile Appeals with all aspects of juvenile appeals, including:

• Providing leadership, training and advice to all juvenile defenders, trial and appellate, as well as any attorney working on issues related to adolescents and juvenile/criminal law;
• Certifying, training, and supporting members of the juvenile appeals panel, including reviewing and critiquing briefs, moot-courting panel members, evaluating oral arguments, and reviewing and critiquing screening reports;
• Maintaining and refining a system for post-adjudication assignments (direct appeals and screenings), including reviewing and responding to correspondence from clients requesting the assistance of counsel for post-trial litigation, communicating with assigned counsel, and making and tracking assignments;
• Maintaining and refining a YAD appellate mentor program;
• Working on projects related to improving legal representation and outcomes for court-involved children, including reviewing and drafting legislation and developing impact litigation strategies and materials;
• Playing a leadership role in working towards reducing the racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile legal system;
• Developing and delivering training programs on delinquency, youthful offender, and adolescent development issues for trial and appellate attorneys;
• Drafting single justice petitions and division/agency amicus curiae letters and briefs;
• Performing a variety of related duties