Director - Criminal Trial Support Unit

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Boston, MA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Private Counsel Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Director of the Criminal Trial Support Unit. The Director is responsible for ensuring statewide quality and excellence in the private counsel trial panel by providing leadership, oversight, and support to the state-wide criminal private counsel trial panel and leading CPCS’ efforts to ensure a strong panel of zealous criminal defense advocates committed to CPCS’ mission. We fight for equal justice and human dignity by supporting our clients in achieving their legal and life goals. We zealously advocate for the rights of individuals and promote just public policy to protect the rights of all. 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. The Director of the Criminal Trial Support Unit (Director) provides leadership, oversight, and support to the state-wide criminal private counsel trial panel (approximately 1,500 attorneys, taking about 120,000 trial court assignments/year). The Director leads CPCS’ efforts to attract and retain a strong panel of zealous criminal defense advocates committed to CPCS’ mission and is responsible for ensuring statewide quality and excellence. The Director ensures that panel attorneys are supported so that they are in compliance with the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct and the CPCS Performance Standards of Practice (Performance Guidelines) pursuant to the Assigned Counsel Manual (ACM) policies and procedures. The Director works closely with the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Private Counsel Division (Deputy Chief Counsel) to ensure Division goals are accomplished. The Director also directly supervises a unit of 10 staff members.

Requirements

Eligible to practice law in this jurisdiction as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, or as an attorney in another jurisdiction who is eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04
Demonstrated commitment to the representation of indigent persons accused of crime
A minimum of eight years’ experience as a practicing criminal defense attorney (including both experience representing indigent criminal clients and significant jury trial, appellate, or equivalent relevant experience)
Four years of managerial experience, or a comparable mix of relevant legal, managerial, and oversight/supervisory experience and skills
Access to reliable transportation in order to travel to offices, courts, and other locations throughout the state that are not easily accessible by public transportation
Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely

Nice To Haves

Experience in district and superior court trial practice preferred
Experience as a bar advocate preferred
Familiarity with budget oversight and drafting contracts
A demonstrated commitment to providing high quality legal representation to poor people
Experience working with culturally diverse, poor, and marginalized clients
A nuanced understanding of how implicit biases impact members of racial, ethnic, and other minority groups
An ability to create, support, and nurture a diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent workplace
Excellent interpersonal, analytical, oral and written communication and organizational skills
A creative and pragmatic thinker
Ability to multi-task and strong attention to detail a must
Computer skills: Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook and Monday.com

Responsibilities

Providing leadership, supervision, and support to the Criminal Trial Support Unit staff attorneys and administrative professionals, including completing annual staff performance evaluations, providing in-house trainings, and promoting staff professional development
Overseeing the certification processes for the criminal private counsel panels
Overseeing the assignment of counsel policies and procedures for criminal District Court, Superior Court, and murder matters
Providing support to the 13 state-wide Bar Advocate Programs (BAPs), including the review and approval of budget, expense, and contract modification requests, as well as substantive support of approximately 41 private counsel supervising attorneys
Monitoring the private counsel trial panel’s compliance and investigating complaints of attorneys’ failure to comply with the CPCS Performance Guidelines pursuant to the ACM. Following investigations, making disciplinary recommendations to the Deputy Chief Counsel
Overseeing the pre-payment review of bills submitted by private counsel which reach or surpass the established threshold
Hiring, training, and supervising the staff responsible for the 24-hour murder hotline and overseeing the assignment of pre-arraignment counsel in murder cases
Collaborating with and supporting the Deputy Chief Counsel to further the goals and objectives of the Private Counsel Division
Collaborating with other CPCS Trial Panel Directors to ensure agency wide consistency in working with private assigned counsel
Collaborating with other CPCS Divisions and Units such as the Public Defender Division, the Training Department, Finance, Information Technology, Audit and Oversight, and Human Resources as appropriate
Responding to questions and concerns from clients, courts, judges, clerks, probation officers, Department of Correction and Sheriff Officials and other stakeholders
Other duties as assigned