Attorney in Charge - CAFL Pittsfield

The Children and Family Law Division is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Attorney in Charge of the Berkshire Office, located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The Attorney in Charge will manage CAFL’s Berkshire Office and represent a small caseload of individual clients. They will also play a leadership role in CPCS’s efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases.

We fight for equal justice and human dignity by 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.

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.

OFFICE OVERVIEW

The CAFL Berkshire Trial Office provides public defense in family regulation matters and is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Berkshire CAFL has a strong culture of teamwork and strongly believes in community engagement and partnership to assist clients as they navigate the family regulation system.

Situated within the heart of the Berkshires in Massachusetts, Pittsfield offers a laidback city atmosphere inspired by its local roots. The Berkshires are a special place, filled with artists, artisans, and purveyors who thrive on originality. Deep, historic roots can be traced to this region, and yet it’s laced with a refreshingly modern vibe in its dining, culture, and design. All of this is within the backdrop of the Berkshires, the mountains of western Massachusetts with outdoor activities including hiking, skiing, viewing spectacular Fall foliage, and renowned annual festivals including the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

POSITION OVERVIEW

CPCS is seeking an experienced attorney to lead the Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) office in Pittsfield. CAFL provides legal representation and advocacy throughout Massachusetts to children and indigent parents in care and protection, child requiring assistance, and termination of parental rights cases and to children in guardianship-of-a-minor cases. The Attorney in Charge will manage CAFL’s Berkshire Office and represent a small caseload of individual clients. They will also play a leadership role in CPCS’s efforts to provide high-quality representation to children and indigent parents in all CAFL cases.

What CAFL does:

Through a robust team of public defenders which include attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and administrative support staff, CAFL works to defend the rights of families to be free from governmental interference. Our teams of dedicated advocates come to work every day with a purposeful desire to defend the rights of the families in Massachusetts.

Who are we looking for:

The ideal candidate for this position will demonstrate a deep connection to CPCS’s mission of client centric, inclusive public defense in an atmosphere of courage, accountability, respect, and excellence.

They 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 children, parents and caretakers who are experiencing governmental interference.

Opportunities and Challenges facing the CAFL Berkshire Attorney in Charge

The CAFL Berkshire Trial Office presents a number of exciting opportunities and challenges for the next Attorney in Charge (“AIC”). They will directly supervise the office’s Administrative Assistant as well as the Trial Attorneys to ensure a smooth running and high functioning law office. The AIC will carry a small caseload of clients, including both parent and child clients.

The duties of the AIC encompass leading and nurturing a skilled, effective, and dedicated legal team that values diversity, collaboration, and creativity. The AIC will succeed in this role by providing consistent, clear communication that builds trust and promotes team morale and transparency among a diverse group of attorneys, social workers, and administrative staff. It is critical that the AIC is able to foster a work environment that is supportive, equitable, and inclusive and upholds the principles of anti-oppression for both clients and staff. Conducting investigations into client complaints on staff performance or professionalism is also required.

The key to being able to thrive in this role is being able to balance collaboration and seeking input with strong decision making and execution skills. The ability to identify systemic barriers prohibiting clients from obtaining their goals and developing strategies for addressing these barriers will allow the AIC to live and breathe the goals of supporting CPCS’s work to reflect the communities and families it serves and build a culture of inclusion, continuous learning, and trust.

The AIC will need to routinely evaluate and refine existing processes and tools to deliver high quality representation and regularly review, understand, and thoughtfully implement new agency initiatives by gathering, analyzing, and reporting data. The AIC will provide training, supervision, and evaluation of the attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and administrative support staff. They will support and assist the CPCS Training Department, attend and actively participate in CAFL Administration meetings and agency-wide management meetings. The AIC will also work closely with the CAFL Director of Social Work, CAFL Private Panel Director, CAFL Director of Appeals, the CPCS Human Resources Unit, and other external stakeholders in the family regulation system.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Management and Leadership Responsibilities:

• Training, supervising, and evaluating staff Trial Attorneys;
• Supervising support staff and assisting with the supervision of a staff social worker;
• Assigning cases and other work within the office;
• Managing work flow for paralegals;
• 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;
• Assisting attorneys in other CAFL offices;
• Helping private attorneys through trainings and providing technical assistance;
• Developing and maintaining working relationships with local courts, bar associations, CAFL Resource Attorneys, the Department of Children and Families, along with other organizations and individuals working in child welfare law;
• Identifying systemic problems and developing strategies for addressing those problems; and,
• Identifying and creating professional development opportunities for trial office attorneys and support staff.
Client Representation Responsibilities:
• Interviewing adult clients;
• Visiting and interviewing child clients;
• Pre-trial investigation and discovery, including locating and interviewing witnesses, reviewing documentary evidence, and consulting with experts and other service providers;
• 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.