The Committee for Public Counsel Services is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Director of the Parole Advocacy Unit. This is a newly-expanded unit located in the Private Counsel Division.
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.
PAROLE ADVOCACY UNIT OVERVIEW
The Committee for Public Counsel Services is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Director of the Parole Advocacy Unit. This is a newly-expanded unit located in the Private Counsel Division and the Director of Parole Advocacy will report directly to the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Private Counsel Division.
The Parole Advocacy Unit assigns attorneys to represent qualified individuals in parole advocacy and compassionate release efforts. The Parole Advocacy Unit consists of a Director, a Staff Attorney (this is an internal staff counsel rotation position), and an Administrative Assistant.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Director of Parole Advocacy is responsible for CPCS’s parole advocacy and compassionate release efforts. The Director leads, supports, trains, and oversees representation for incarcerated individuals sentenced to juvenile life sentences who are eligible for parole release hearings; incarcerated individuals with disabilities whose impairments require counsel to assist with parole release hearings, clients facing parole revocations, incarcerated clients seeking compassionate release, and appeals of adverse decisions.
The Director is responsible for developing and implementing practice models, creating and maintaining a robust panel of well-qualified attorneys, and collaborating with stakeholders to reduce racial and ethnic disparities, and increase fairness and due process in parole and compassionate release practices and policies.
The Director of Parole Advocacy will develop Performance Standards of Practice and ensure panel attorneys’ compliance with them. The Director works closely with the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Private Counsel Division, who oversees this unit, to accomplish Division goals and with other CPCS divisions, including, but not limited to, the Adult Criminal Appeals and Post-Conviction Unit, the Adult Criminal Trial Private and Public divisions, the Youth Advocacy Division, the Training Department, the Director of Private Social Work Services, Finance, Information Technology, Audit and Oversight, and Human Resources as appropriate to fulfill the responsibilities of the position. The Director also collaborates with other stakeholders to advocate for the implementation of fair parole and compassionate release practices and policies.
RESPONSIBILITIES
-Managing, supporting, and overseeing a panel of skilled advocates in parole and compassionate release cases. This includes recruiting panel attorneys, developing certification requirements, providing training opportunities, developing practice area performance standards, monitoring attorney compliance with performance standards and the policies in the CPCS Assigned Counsel Manual, and investigating client complaints;
-Overseeing the assignment of counsel policies and procedures;
-Providing supervision, leadership, and support to Parole Advocacy Unit staff, including completing annual staff performance evaluations and the promotion of staff professional development;
-Overseeing the pre-payment review of bills submitted by private panel members which reach or surpass the established thresholds;
-Serving as the CPCS liaison for the Department of Correction and Parole Board in matters involving parole and compassionate release;
-Serving as the representative of the Parole Advocacy Unit on various court and agency committees;
Responding to questions and concerns from clients, attorneys, court personnel, prison, jail and parole personnel;
-Collaborating with CPCS Departments, Divisions, and Units to ensure Agency-wide consistency with private assigned counsel and with stakeholders to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and increase fairness and due process in parole, juvenile lifers and compassionate release practices and policies; and,
-Other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM ENTRACE REQUIREMENTS
Candidates must:
-Be eligible to practice law in this jurisdiction as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, or as an attorney in another jurisdiction who is eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
-Possess a minimum of seven years’ combined experience as a practicing criminal defense or delinquency attorney, an attorney conducting administrative hearings related to criminal or delinquency matters, or supervision or oversight of attorneys handling criminal defense, delinquency, or administrative proceedings related to criminal or delinquency matters.
-Possess a demonstrated commitment to providing high quality legal representation to indigent individuals accused and/or convicted of crimes; experience working with culturally diverse and marginalized clients; and a nuanced understanding of how implicit biases impacts members of racial, ethnic, and other minority groups;
-Access to an automobile in order to travel to courts, clients, and other locations that are not easily accessible by public transportation; and,
-Access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
-Experience as a litigator in adult criminal, delinquency and/or youthful offender cases, preferably in all three areas;
-Experience representing individuals before the parole board and appealing adverse decisions;
-Experience developing, overseeing, and/or training assigned counsel panel
-Experience developing performance guidelines
-Experience designing home release plans;
-Preference for experience with medical parole petitions;
-Knowledge of current research involving adolescent brain development;
-A minimum of two years of experience in a supervisory capacity;
-An ability to work effectively independently, as part of a team, and in partnership with other organizations;
-An ability to create, support, and nurture a diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent workplace; and,
-Excellent interpersonal, analytical, oral, and written communication and organizational skills. A creative and pragmatic thinker with an ability to multi-task and pay strong attention to detail.
Candidates must submit a letter of interest and resume. The letter of interest should include a description of the candidate’s criminal defense, parole, supervisory, administrative and/or management experience as well as a discussion of their priorities and vision for leading the unit.
This position will remain open until filled. Preference will be given to candidates who apply prior to 3/2/2021
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]