ATTORNEY TRAINER; APD III
Overview Of The Position
The Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD) is seeking an exceptional, forward-thinking litigator and educator to join our statewide Training Division as an Attorney Trainer. At MOPD, we believe that every client—regardless of their background or financial resources—deserves elite, zealous, and client-centered advocacy. As an Attorney Trainer, you will not just teach the law; you will cultivate the skills, passion, and strategic thinking of our state’s public defenders. This role is a unique hybrid of strategic curriculum design, performance-based courtroom coaching, and direct litigation mentorship. Operating from our Training Division headquarters with statewide reach, you will directly shape the legal minds defending our communities. You will build and lead high-impact training programs that take new attorneys from their first day of orientation to complex felony trials, using modern adult-learning models and dynamic trial advocacy techniques.
Primary Duties & Responsibilities
Curriculum Design & Instruction: Develop and facilitate MOPD’s foundational and continuing legal education (CLE) programs, including the intensive New Attorney Orientation and core programmatic partnerships like Gideon’s Promise. Design interactive workshops on all stages of litigation: voir dire, opening statements, cross-examinations, and sentencing advocacy.
Individualized & Coaching; Mentorship: Conduct one-on-one video reviews of attorney mock performances and courtroom trials. Review and provide structured developmental feedback on written advocacy (motions to suppress, sentencing memoranda). Co-counsel complex trials with junior attorneys to provide live, structured courtroom mentorship.
Evaluation & Quality Assurance: Conduct statewide litigation needs assessments across MOPD’s 12 operational districts. Design and track metrics to evaluate the long-term classroom retention of trial skills.
Strategic Collaboration & Resource Creation: Partner with District Public Defenders and specialized divisions (e.g., Forensics, Mental Health) to incorporate advanced sciences into general trial defense. Maintain and update the division’s digital trial notebooks, manuals, and templates.
Administration: Track attendance, manage certification credits, and complete standard agency data reporting.