Trial Attorney - PDD Hampden County Conflict Advocacy Office

About the Agency

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is the Massachusetts state agency responsible for providing legal representation to indigent individuals when the constitution or a statute requires appointment of counsel. CPCS represents clients in criminal, delinquency, youthful offender, family regulation, guardianship, mental health, sexually dangerous person, and sex offender registry cases, as well as appeals and post-conviction proceedings. The agency is committed to protecting fundamental constitutional and human rights through zealous advocacy and community-oriented defense.

CPCS values diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring its staff represents a broad range of human differences and experiences. The agency fosters a respectful work climate that supports success and promotes the dignity and well-being of all staff members.

About the Office

The newly created Hampden County Conflict Advocacy Office (CAO) will be located at 1441 Main Street in Springfield. The CAO will represent clients in District and Superior Courts throughout Hampden County, acting as the conflicts office for the Public Defender Division when a conflict of interest prevents a PDD staff attorney from representing a client. The CAO operates as a separate law firm from other CPCS offices, with its own managerial system, physical offices, and technology to ensure separation for conflicts purposes.

Staff who have worked in other CPCS Hampden County non-conflict offices within the past three years are not eligible to work in the Conflict Advocacy Office.

About the Role

The Public Defender Division provides legal representation to indigent clients charged with criminal offenses in District and Superior Courts. Trial Attorneys begin by representing clients in District Court cases, including misdemeanors, felonies, and some serious sexual offenses, as well as initial commitment proceedings. With experience, attorneys may handle Superior Court cases, interlocutory appeals, civil commitments, and collateral matters, and serve as informal mentors to other staff attorneys.

New Trial Attorneys receive comprehensive, skills-based training and ongoing continuing legal education to ensure they are prepared to provide zealous representation.

Responsibilities

• Interviewing clients;
• Arraignment and bail advocacy;
• Legal research and writing;
• Pretrial investigation, including visiting crime scenes, locating and interviewing witnesses, and collecting 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;
• Collaborating with private attorneys on cases assigned through the Private Counsel Division of CPCS, where appropriate;
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Eligibility to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar, a law school graduate under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03, or an attorney licensed in another jurisdiction covered by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
• Access to an automobile for travel to courts, clients, and investigation locations not easily accessible by public transportation;
• Access to home internet sufficient to work remotely.

Recent law school graduates ineligible to practice under SJC Rule 3:03 may be hired as paralegals with promotion to Trial Attorney upon admission to the Massachusetts bar.

Qualifications

• A demonstrated commitment to zealous advocacy in representing indigent persons in criminal cases;
• Strong interpersonal and analytical skills;
• Ability to work in a community and defense-oriented capacity, both independently and collaboratively;
• Cultural competency to work effectively with clients of diverse races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and limited English proficiency.