Public Defender Attorney I

Weber County•Ogden, UT

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

This listing is for current Weber Public Defender Group Employees/Contract Attorneys. Candidates not currently assigned or contracted with the Weber Public Defender Group will not be considered. Under the direction of the Director, Chief of the Criminal Division and designated supervising attorneys, perform criminal defense work for qualified indigent parties (Clients) being prosecuted by the Weber and/or Morgan County Attorney’s Office and the Utah State Attorney General’s Office in Weber and Morgan Counties.

Requirements

Graduation from an ABA-accredited law school and be a member of the Utah State Bar or working under a provisional State Bar license in good standing.
Attorney must obtain a Utah State Bar license if working under a provisional license within 1 year of the start of practice.
Must possess a strong working knowledge of US and State Constitutional Law, municipal, and State statutes and current pertinent case law (State and Federal) as well as Utah’s Civil and Criminal Rules of Procedure, Rules of Evidence, and applicable administrative rules of the court and local court practice rules.
Must also possess research skills needed to address legal issues in a coherent and logical method.
Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Adobe Pro and other software as needed as well as online research programs aw) and the ability to learn and work with various client management software (Defender Data.)
Must possess the ability to analyze a case, research and identify legal issues and draft legal documents addressing those issues.
Must be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
This position requires a good listener, a perceptive mind, and a desire to help.
Must be willing to follow written and verbal directions but also be self-motivated.
You must also possess the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with team members, prosecutors, court personnel, law enforcement agencies, other county and municipal departments and the public.
Due to the nature of this position, the successful candidate may be required to complete a pre-employment background check prior to starting the position.

Nice To Haves

Experience is preferred but not required.
Relevant pre-law experience may also be considered.
Advanced skills in creating spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and presentations using MS Office Suite is a plus.

Responsibilities

Represent Clients in District, Juvenile, Justice and Specialty Courts in Weber and Morgan Counties as assigned including representation in all phases of the court process from initial appearance to, trail, sentencing and/or dismissal of a case.
Interview Clients and perform legal needs assessment, including, but not limited to, filing an appearance of counsel, obtaining initial discovery, reviewing said discovery to determine legal issues and any additional discovery needed and follow-up with the Weber or Morgan County Attorney’s Office and/or appropriate law enforcement or other agencies to obtain needed information.
Identify issues in a case that requires the filing of additional pleadings and motions, file said pleadings and motions and present competent and compelling arguments before the court in support of such pleadings and motions as may be appropriate.
Make referrals to the Forensic Social Work Division and coordinate with social workers to determine mitigation, mental health, and/or substance abuse services that may be appropriate in a case. This will require a basic knowledge and ability to recognize mitigation, mental health and/or substance abuse issues that may arise in a Client’s case.
Seek the assistance of an investigator and/or expert as may be appropriate regarding specific identified issues in a case in coordination with your supervisors and/or the director.
Set up and review case files in department approved case management software and maintain basic case information in said software.
Negotiate case resolutions with prosecutors in the best interests of your Client.
Collaborate closely with team attorneys, staff members and various agencies to achieve favorable outcomes for your Clients.
Remain up to date on current case law, statutes and general knowledge in your assigned areas.
Attend training as required and provide a summary of said training to your team mates as directed by Division Chief and/or Director.
Represent WPDG on various local, county and/or state committees and coalitions as assigned and serve on in-house committees and/or spearhead groups as assigned.