Litigation Support Attorney - Children and Family Law Division

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Boston, MA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking a Litigation Support Attorney for the Children and Family Law Division (CAFL). The Litigation Support Attorney will be responsible for drafting, collecting, organizing, disseminating, and training on model legal motions, researching memoranda on legal and clinical topics, and other materials to improve the advocacy of CAFL trial panel attorneys, appellate panel attorneys, staff attorneys, and social workers. This position will play a vital role in the support of trial and appellate advocacy for CPCS’ clients in family regulation/child welfare cases. CPCS fights for equal justice and human dignity by supporting its clients in achieving their legal and life goals. CPCS zealously advocates for the rights of individuals and promotes just public policy to protect the rights of all.

Requirements

Eligible to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing or as a member of the bar in another jurisdiction eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04
Access to reliable transportation in order to travel to various training locations and courts across the Commonwealth
Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely
A minimum of 3 years’ full-time experience representing children and parents in child welfare/family regulation matters
Strong writing, research, organizational, collaborative, and communication skills
Some appellate experience (including work on final or single justice appeals)
The ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, both independently and collaboratively
The capacity for close attention to detail
Strong interpersonal and analytical skills
A demonstrated commitment to the principle of zealous advocacy in the representation of indigent persons in family regulation/child welfare cases

Nice To Haves

Some training or teaching experience

Responsibilities

Drafting model motions, supporting memoranda, and other legal and clinical research memoranda
Conducting legal and clinical research on new and existing legal trial and appellate strategies
Collecting, generating, and assessing the need for new legal and non-legal resources for staff and private panel attorneys
Maintaining, organizing, and further developing a bank/library system for storing, organizing, and disseminating resources
Designing and delivering training workshops for staff and private panel attorneys regarding newly-created and currently-available resources
Collaborating with private counsel (including resource attorneys and mentors) and staff on projects related to these functions
Assisting the CAFL Trial Panel Support Unit, the CAFL Appellate Panel Support Unit, and CAFL Training in other training events, as needed
Regularly attending CAFL APSU and TPSU unit meetings
Assisting with analyzing, drafting, and responding to proposed policies, regulations, and court rules
Advising trial and appellate panel members about case strategy
May maintain a small caseload of child welfare trial and/or appellate clients
Other duties as assigned