Staff Attorney (UCIP Team)

California Appellate Project•San Francisco, CA

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Unrepresented Condemned Inmate Project (UCIP) Staff Attorney will oversee a caseload of unrepresented incarcerated capitally sentenced people and provide vigorous advocacy on their behalf. CAP is a nonprofit legal resource center funded by the Judicial Council of California to implement the constitutional right to counsel for indigent death row inmates challenging their convictions and sentences on direct appeal and through habeas corpus proceedings.

Requirements

Admission to the California Bar.
Proven litigation skills, with at least two years of law practice and substantial experience in capital trial, appellate, and/or habeas corpus representation preferred.
Superior legal analysis and writing skills.
Understanding of death penalty jurisprudence and demonstrated commitment to vigorous advocacy on behalf of indigent defendants.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), WordPerfect, and legal research databases (e.g., Westlaw, Lexis).
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple litigation tasks and perform essential duties in the face of time constraints and interruptions.
Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with outside counsel, clients, clients' families, witnesses, expert consultants, court personnel, prison personnel, and CAP colleagues – in person, by email, and by telephone.
Proven organizational and project management skills, including planning, negotiating, effective problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
Ability to travel to correctional facilities statewide and to obtain clearance to visit a prison.

Nice To Haves

Substantial experience in capital trial, appellate, and/or habeas corpus representation.

Responsibilities

Overseeing a caseload of unrepresented incarcerated capitally sentenced people whose cases require ongoing record collection work, communications with clients (and client advocacy in certain instances), and vigilant attention to applicable changes in the law.
Conducting intake and initial record collection for new clients, working with trial counsel, collecting the trial file, and drafting Case Information Reports.
Becoming familiar with the facts of each case and any briefing for all clients, including Morgan petitioners.
Evaluating cases for Racial Justice Act review and the applicability of second look sentencing.
Reviewing transcripts or supervising law student interns who do so.
Maintaining regular, ongoing contact with clients, client families, and other witnesses; gathering records and life history documents; and locating witnesses and collecting, or supervising the collection of, their records.
Assisting incarcerated clients with administrative appeals and other prison issues as needed.
Training and supervising law and paralegal students to meet RJA and second look legislation needs, record collection and life history investigation goals, and UCIP publications goals.
Serving as the UCIP's and the office's research attorney on legal questions concerning document gathering and records collection.
Developing expertise in the law governing public and non-public information (e.g., CPRA, FOIA, and HIPAA).
Preparing for and participating in CAP's New Case Trainings for clients on the caseload as counsel is appointed.
Conducting interdisciplinary research and continuing education (historical, cultural, psychological, medical, and legal) through reading and attending training events.
Assisting with urgent, time-sensitive projects that arise for the UCIP or the CAP office.