Supervising Attorney - PDD Malden

About the role

The Public Defender Division of CPCS, the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking two Supervising Attorneys with a minimum of four years of experience providing criminal defense representation for its Malden Office.

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.

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 two Supervising Attorneys, with a minimum of four years of experience providing criminal defense representation. Under the direction of the office’s Attorney in Charge, the Supervising Attorney will assist in the supervision of Trial Attorneys and will also have their own reduced caseload. Clients are indigent persons charged with criminal offenses within the final jurisdiction of the respective court.

Qualifications

• 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 four 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 locations that are not easily accessible by public transportation;
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

Qualifications/Skills

• Significant jury trial experience as lead counsel in criminal cases; including Superior Court cases;
• Commitment to working with a culturally diverse, low-income population;
• Willingness and ability to work positively and collaboratively with both the Attorney in Charge and Supervisees;
• A demonstrated commitment to the principle of zealous advocacy in the representation of 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;
• Foreign language skills, Spanish in particular, are desirable.

Responsibilities

• The Supervising Attorneys will supervise Trial Attorneys assigned to Municipal, District, and Superior Court cases in addition to their case responsibilities.
• The Supervising Attorneys must be capable of supervising new Trial Attorneys as well as experienced Trial Attorneys practicing in the Superior Court, particularly around serious felony or otherwise complex cases.
• The Direct Representation Duties Of The Supervising 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;
• Representation of clients in interlocutory proceedings.
• Duties The supervisory duties of the Supervising 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;
• Other duties as assigned.

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 Chief Human Resources Officer, Sandra DeBow-Huang, at sdebow@publiccounsel.net