2027 Public Defender Division Trial Attorney - Statewide Positions

About the role

The Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the public defender agency for Massachusetts, is seeking Trial Attorneys to provide criminal defense representation in various offices throughout the Commonwealth. The Public Defender Division provides legal representation and advocacy to indigent clients who are charged with criminal offenses in both the District and Superior Courts. The Public Defender Division will be hiring attorneys throughout 2026 and 2027 for immediate start dates as well as future dates, including Spring and Fall 2027.

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.

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, family regulation, 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.

Responsibilities

• Interviewing clients
• 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
• Representation of clients in interlocutory proceedings
• Where appropriate, working collaboratively with private attorneys on cases assigned through the Private Counsel Division of CPCS
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum entrance requirements

• A Trial Attorney must be committed to serving a culturally diverse, low-income population and must be eligible to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar, as a law school graduate under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03, or as an attorney licensed in another jurisdiction who is covered by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04
• A recent law school graduate who is ineligible to practice under SJC Rule 3:03 will be hired as a paralegal with the understanding that they will be promoted to trial attorney once admitted to practice in Massachusetts
• Access to an automobile in order to travel to courts, clients, and investigation locations that are not easily accessible by public transportation
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely

Qualifications and skills

Candidates should possess the following attributes for the position of Trial Attorney:

• A demonstrated commitment to the principle of zealous advocacy in the representation of indigent persons in criminal cases
• Strong interpersonal and analytical skills
• Ability to work in a community and defense-oriented capacity, both independently and collaboratively

Pay

$75,000.00

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