Attorney in Charge - YAD Quincy

Committee for Public Counsel•Quincy, MA

8d•$112,110 - $164,639

About The Position

The Youth Advocacy Division (YAD) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), Massachusetts’s public defender agency, is seeking an experienced juvenile defender to lead its Quincy office. The Attorney in Charge (AIC) manages a trial office that brings together attorneys, a social service advocate, and an administrative assistant to address clients’ legal and developmental needs. The position combines local office leadership, participation in the management of YAD, representation of individual clients, and collaboration with private assigned counsel to strengthen juvenile defense practice and training. The AIC provides leadership, support, and oversight to a multidisciplinary, community-oriented public defender office and contributes to statewide efforts supporting indigent representation in delinquency and youthful offender cases. The position reports directly to a Managing Director of YAD and participates in regular meetings with other YAD AICs, local Juvenile Supervising Attorneys, and the YAD management team. CPCS provides constitutionally or statutorily required legal representation to people who cannot afford counsel. YAD is the juvenile defender division of CPCS and supports representation in delinquency, GCL revocation, juvenile murder, juvenile appeals, and youthful offender cases. CPCS emphasizes zealous advocacy, community-oriented defense, cultural competence, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Requirements

Be eligible to practice law in Massachusetts as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, or be an attorney in another jurisdiction eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04.
Have a minimum of seven years of experience handling criminal defense cases.
Have access to an automobile for travel to courts, clients, and investigation locations that are not easily accessible by public transportation.
Have reliable home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

Nice To Haves

Strong experience with juvenile defense, particularly community-oriented defender practice.
Experience supervising, managing, and training attorneys and other staff.
Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of juvenile justice practice and policy.
Demonstrated commitment to zealous advocacy for indigent persons in criminal cases.
Ability and commitment to complete annual performance evaluations in a timely and comprehensive manner.
Demonstrated writing and public speaking skills.
Strong organizational and administrative ability.
Substantial knowledge of state and local resources useful to juvenile defendants.
Ability to provide in-house training and share information about case law and other relevant legal developments.
Substantial experience using forensic experts.

Responsibilities

Manage and supervise a juvenile public defender office, overseeing legal representation using YAD’s Positive Youth Development approach to interdisciplinary representation in delinquency, youthful offender, and related proceedings.
Maintain a reduced caseload and take the lead on difficult and potentially precedent-setting cases.
Ensure cases are assigned promptly and opened and closed in a timely manner.
Complete timely and comprehensive annual performance evaluations for all staff.
Apply the Positive Youth Development approach to zealous advocacy, including education advocacy and the use of staff and private social workers.
Use the CPCS case management system, including generating and interpreting case statistics and reports to support performance management, program evaluation, and policy advocacy.
Participate in, support, and provide leadership to local juvenile defender communities and stakeholders, and encourage staff to engage meaningfully in client communities.
Provide ongoing in-house staff training and work with the YAD Training Director to develop and deliver training for private counsel.
Build and maintain working relationships with the local Juvenile Court, Probation, DYS, DCF, community agencies, and other juvenile justice stakeholders.
Represent YAD in select circumstances.
Perform other duties as assigned and comply with applicable statutes, professional conduct rules, CPCS performance guidelines, and agency practice standards.