Attorney in Charge - Children & Family Law Division, Hampden County Conflict Office

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Job location
101 State Street
Springfield, MA 01103
United States
Organization information
Organization name: 
Committee for Public Counsel Services
Street address: 
75 Federal Street
City: 
Boston
State: 
Massachusetts
ZIP: 
02110
Job type: 
Legal - Civil
Position Description: 

The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Attorney in Charge (AIC) of its new Hampden County Conflict Trial Office. The AIC will lead and manage CAFL’s Hampden County Conflict Trial Office as well as represent individual clients. The AIC will play a leadership role within CPCS, CAFL, the Hampden County courts, and the Hampden County community in CPCS’s efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases.

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 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, 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.

 

OFFICE OVERVIEW

 

CAFL is opening a Hampden County Conflict Trial Office in Springfield, Massachusetts. The office will provide legal representation to children and indigent parents 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 the Hampden County Conflict Trial Office may be appointed to represent a parent in the same case in which a staff attorney in CAFL’s existing Springfield office represents a child. Alternatively, an attorney in the Hampden County Conflict Trial Office may be appointed to represent a party in a case in which CAFL’s existing Springfield office attorneys are unable to represent any party because of conflicts relating to a current or former client of a CPCS staff attorney. The Conflict Trial Office will be considered a separate law firm from all other CPCS offices for conflict of interest purposes. To this end, it will have 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 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, guardianship-of-a-minor cases, and other types of custody and adoption proceedings. Team members work diligently to help and support CAFL clients to achieve their legal and life goals.

CAFL clients are diverse in every way imaginable. Accordingly, all CPCS staff members must be culturally competent and able to work well with people of different races, ethnicities, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, abilities, languages, and other characteristics.

Springfield, 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 best known for being the birthplace of basketball and the home of Theodor Geisel, better known as “Dr. Seuss.”

POSITION OVERVIEW

CPCS is seeking an experienced attorney to lead and manage the new Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) Hampden County Conflict Trial Office. The AIC will lead and manage CAFL’s Hampden County Conflict Trial Office as well as represent individual clients. The AIC is expected to perform many functions and hold many responsibilities required of CPCS office leadership, including playing a leadership role within CPCS, CAFL, the Hampden County courts, and the Hampden County community in CPCS’s efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases.

 

Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Hampden County Conflict Office Attorney in Charge

 

The newly established Hampden County Conflict Trial Office presents a number of exciting opportunities and challenges for the inaugural AIC. The AIC will be directly involved in the hiring and training of the office’s Trial Attorneys, Social Worker and Administrative Assistant. The AIC will directly supervise all staff to ensure a smooth-running and high-functioning law office built on a culture of inclusion, continuous learning, and trust. The AIC will carry a half caseload of clients, including both parent and child clients. And the AIC will be expected to play a leadership role in CPCS’ efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases. The AIC must share, and actively promote, CPCS’ mission to help clients achieve their legal and life goals; must be able to identify systemic obstacles that prevent clients from obtaining their goals; and develop strategies for overcoming those obstacles.

 

The AIC will succeed in this role by collaborating, communicating clearly, and building team trust and morale with a diverse group of attorneys, social workers, and administrative staff. The AIC will foster a work environment that is supportive, equitable, and inclusive, and will uphold the principles of anti-racism for both clients and staff. The AIC must have strong decision-making skills and the ability to execute those decisions.

 

The AIC must routinely evaluate and refine existing processes and tools to deliver high quality representation. The AIC must also regularly review, understand, and thoughtfully implement agency initiatives and be adept at gathering, analyzing, and reporting data. With support from CPCS’s Training Department and other CAFL colleagues, the AIC will train, supervise, evaluate and support the professional development of the attorneys, social workers, and administrative support staff in the office. The AIC will attend and actively participate in CAFL Administration meetings and agency-wide management meetings. The AIC will also work closely with CAFL administration and members of CPCS’s non-CAFL administration.

 

Who are we looking for:

 

The ideal candidate for this position will demonstrate a deep connection to CPCS’s mission of client-centered, inclusive public defense. The ideal candidate must be able to create, maintain, and thrive in an atmosphere of courage, accountability, respect, and excellence.

 

The ideal candidate will 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 adult and child clients who are experiencing government intervention in family life. In addition, the ideal candidate will have a clear understanding of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Management and Leadership Responsibilities:

Training, supervising, and evaluating trial attorneys;
Supervising and managing work-flow for non-attorney 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 administrative staff and staff in other CAFL offices to discuss management issues and child welfare policy and practice issues;
Conducting investigations into client complaints on staff performance or professionalism;
Helping private attorneys through trainings and other forms of assistance;
Developing and maintaining working relationships with local courts, bar associations, CAFL Resource Attorneys, the Department of Children and Families, other stakeholder organizations, and other groups and individuals working in in the family regulation system;
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;
Conducting pre-trial investigation and discovery, including locating and interviewing witnesses, reviewing documentary evidence, and consulting with experts and other service providers;
Performing 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 social work staff.

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, Mark Conlon, at [email protected]

Requirements: 

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

The candidate must:

Be 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;
Have a minimum of seven years’ experience as an attorney, including at least five years in child welfare/state intervention law;
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.

This position will be posted until filled, however preference will be given to candidates who apply prior to February 14, 2022.

 
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
 

The ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

 
Relevant legal experience representing parents and/or children facing family regulation/child welfare cases (or similar proceedings in other jurisdictions) including a clear understanding of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct;
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.

To apply: 

Interested candidates must apply via the following link:

https://careers-publiccounsel.icims.com/jobs/2123/attorney-in-charge%2c-...

Notes: 
Equal Opportunity Employer
Salary range: 
$98,540.00 - $124,852.00, commensurate with years of experience
Submission deadline: 
Friday, February 25, 2022