Trial Attorney - CAFL Fall River

Committee for Public Counsel Services•Fall River, MA

About The Position

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the public defender agency for Massachusetts, is seeking an attorney to work in the Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) Fall River Office. CAFL provides legal representation to children and indigent parents in family regulation cases, including care and protection (C&P) proceedings, children requiring assistance (CRA) cases, actions to terminate parental rights, guardianship-of-a-minor cases, and any other child custody proceeding where the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a party or where the court is considering granting custody to DCF. 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. Our Values Courage Accountability Respect Excellence DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MISSION STATEMENT CPCS is committed to protecting the fundamental constitutional and human rights of our assigned clients through zealous advocacy, community-oriented defense, and the fullness of excellent legal representation. We are dedicated to building and maintaining strong professional relationships, while striving to accept, listen to and respect the diverse circumstances of each client, as we dedicate ourselves to meeting their individual needs. It is our CPCS mission to achieve these goals, and in furtherance thereof, we embrace and endorse diversity, equity and inclusion as our core values as we maintain a steadfast commitment to: (1) Ensure that CPCS management and staff members represent a broad range of human differences and experience; (2) Provide a work climate that is respectful and supports success; and (3) Promote the dignity and well-being of all staff members. CPCS leadership is responsible for ensuring equity, diversity, and inclusion. The ability to achieve these goals with any level of certainty is ultimately the responsibility of each member of the CPCS community. AGENCY OVERVIEW 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. OFFICE OVERVIEW Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts . As of 2020 Fall River's population was 94,000 at the making it the tenth-largest city in the state . Located along the eastern shore of Mount Hope Bay at the mouth of the Taunton River , the city gained recognition during the 19th century as a leading textile manufacturing center in the United States. While the textile industry has long since moved on, its impact on the city's culture and landscape is still prominent. Fall River's official motto is "We'll Try", dating back to the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1843. Nicknamed The Scholarship City after Irving Fradkin founded Dollars for Scholars there in 1958. Fall River is known for its numerous 19th-century textile mills and Battleship Cove , home of the world's largest collection of World War II naval vessels (including the battleship USS Massachusetts ). POSITION OVERVIEW CAFL’s legal advocacy plays a critical role in cases that affect families. For a parent involved in a C&P case, having a skilled CAFL lawyer may mean the difference between the family’s reunification and the termination of parental rights – the “death penalty of family law.” For a teenager who is the subject of a truancy CRA case, CAFL’s advocacy may secure the special education services that enable the client to succeed in school and avoid being placed in a foster home. For siblings looking for stability after the court has freed them for adoption, a CAFL attorney will fight to ensure that they are provided a permanent home – one that allows them to stay together. New Trial Attorneys in the CAFL Offices begin their CPCS career with a nationally recognized, comprehensive, skills-based training course to ensure they are ready to represent their clients to their full capabilities. Continuing legal education programs for new and experienced Trial Attorneys are held periodically to ensure that our Trial Attorneys are up to date on the law and have the skills necessary to provide zealous representation to their clients.

Requirements

A Trial Attorney must be committed to serving a culturally diverse, low income population and must be eligible to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar, as a law school graduate under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03, or as an attorney licensed in another jurisdiction who is covered by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04
All Trial Attorney positions require travel; access to reliable transportation throughout the state is necessary; and,
Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

Nice To Haves

Foreign language skills are desirable
Trial experience in termination of parental rights cases as counsel for a parent and/or as counsel for a child or children is preferred
A demonstrated commitment to the principle of zealous advocacy in the representation of indigent persons in family regulation cases
Strong interpersonal and analytical skills
Ability to work in a community and defense-oriented capacity, both independently and collaboratively.

Responsibilities

Interviewing adult clients
Visiting and interviewing child clients
Conducting legal research and writing
Conducting pre-72 hour hearing investigations including reviewing pleadings and exhibits, locating and interviewing witnesses, preparing witnesses, gathering facts from the DCF social worker and other collateral providers, consulting with other parties' counsel regarding their position, collecting and reviewing documentary evidence, identifying objections to testimonial and documentary evidence, and drafting appropriate motions
Obtaining the entire DCF file, reviewing DCF action plans, proposing plan changes, advising client on whether to sign, meeting with court investigator, preparing client to meet with court investigator, and preparing motions to strike inadmissible evidence contained in the court investigator report
Preparing necessary motions regarding outstanding discovery, identifying matters requiring further hearing (e.g., services, DCF reasonable efforts, visitation), preparing pre-trial memo, and developing trial strategy with client
Preparing for Foster Care Reviews
Reviewing DCF's permanency plans and filing objections, if necessary
Investigating and representing client's position in extraordinary medical treatment hearings
Filing motions challenging DCF decisions
Conducting care and protection trials and termination of parental rights trials
Representing clients in interlocutory proceedings
Working with the legal team, including social workers and paralegals
Conducting post-judgment representation
Other duties as assigned.