The Public Defender Division (PDD) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is seeking to fill a Supervising Staff Attorney position in its Malden Office. The PDD provides legal representation and zealous advocacy to indigent adult clients who are charged with criminal offenses in both the District and Superior Courts within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Candidates must have sufficient trial experience in both the District and Superior Courts so they may supervise all Trial Attorney staff.
We fight for equal justice and human dignity by advocating and supporting our clients in achieving their legal and life goals. We zealously advocate for the rights of individuals and promote just public policy to protect the rights of all
Our Values
Courage • Accountability • Respect • Excellence
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 of 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
The Public Defender Division Malden Office is located in Middlesex County and is approximately four miles away from downtown Boston. The office is centrally located in the heart of the Malden civic center and has excellent highway accessibility (Route 93, Route 28, and Route 60) while also being in close proximity to the Malden Square MBTA train station and a MBTA bus stop.
Please access our webpage here: https://www.publiccounsel.net/dir/malden-dist-pd/
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Public Defender Division of CPCS, Malden Office, is seeking a Supervising Staff Attorney, with a minimum of five years of experience providing criminal defense representation. The Supervising Staff Attorney supervises both newer and experienced staff Trial Attorneys, who practice in both the District and Superior Court, in every facet of our legal representation to ensure that we provide zealous and effective advocacy of and for every assigned case and client, whom have been entrusted to our broadly encompassed care. The Supervising Staff Attorney is expected to maintain an active, albeit reduced, caseload providing the same fullness and excellence of representation, no different than any other CPCS PDD staff Trial Attorney.
The clients we represent are diverse across every context imaginable and bring many unique cultural dimensions to the matters we address. This reality creates a critical need for CPCS staff to be culturally competent and able to work well with people of different races, ethnicities, genders and/or sexual orientation identities, abilities, and limited English proficiency, among other protected characteristics.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The direct representation duties of the Supervising Staff Attorney include:
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; and,
Representation of clients in interlocutory proceedings.
The supervisory duties of the Supervising Staff Attorney include, but are not limited to, the following in accordance with the CPCS Guidelines for Supervision of Public Defender Trial Attorneys and the Guidelines for the Implementation of Unified Public Defender
Division Offices:
Regular one-on-one meetings with individual supervisees to review case files, as well as group meetings, to review case preparation and performance;
In-court supervision, including second-seating of trials and significant pretrial hearings;
Preparation of annual performance evaluations;
Presentation of in-office training sessions;
Supervision of other staff, such as investigators and student interns, as delegated by the office’s Attorney in Charge; and,
Other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
Must be eligible to practice law in Massachusetts either as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing or as the member of the bar of another jurisdiction eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Court Rule 3:04;
A minimum of five years of experience providing criminal defense representation in District and Superior Courts;
Access to an automobile in order to travel to courts, clients, and investigation location that are not easily accessible by public transportation; and,
Access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.
Candidates must have sufficient trial experience in both the District and Superior Courts so they may supervise all Trial Attorney staff.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS
Significant jury trial experience as lead counsel in criminal cases; including Superior Court cases;
A commitment to working with a culturally diverse, low-income population,
A demonstrated commitment to the principle of zealous advocacy by providing legal representation to indigent persons in criminal cases;
Ability and commitment to complete annual performance evaluations in a timely and comprehensive manner;
Strong interpersonal and analytical skills;
Ability to work in community and defense-oriented capacity, both independently and collaboratively; and
Foreign language skills, Spanish in particular, are desirable.