Trial Attorney - YAD Springfield

Committee for Public Counsel • Springfield, MA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Youth Advocacy Division (YAD) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking to fill a Trial Attorney position in its Springfield Office. 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. The agency provides representation in criminal, delinquency, youthful offender, child welfare, 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 YAD, the juvenile defender division of CPCS, is committed to ensuring that every indigent child in Massachusetts has access to zealous legal representation in delinquency, GCL Revocation, juvenile murder, juvenile appeals, and youthful offender cases from a diverse and ever improving community of juvenile defenders. YAD provides leadership, training, support, and oversight to the indigent juvenile defense bar in Massachusetts. The Springfield YAD office covers juvenile courts in the four most western counties in the state: Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire. This attorney position will potentially handle duty assignments in each of these counties.

Requirements

• Committed to serving a culturally diverse, low-income population.
• Eligible to practice law in Massachusetts (member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, law school graduate under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03, or member of the bar of another jurisdiction eligible for limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04).
• Access to an automobile for travel to courts, clients, and investigation locations not easily accessible by public transportation.
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely.
• Experience with criminal defense, especially youth defense.
• Experience with a community-oriented defender practice.
• Ability to provide trauma-informed and culturally competent representation.
• Knowledge of adolescent development.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice issues and experience working with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
• Knowledge of positive youth development.
• Knowledge of state and local resources for juvenile defendants.
• Understanding of juvenile justice practice and policy issues.
• Experience with educational system advocacy.
• Experience with the child welfare system.
• Experience working with children and youth.

Nice To Haves

• Fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred.
• Lawyers with four or more years of experience are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Provide zealous legal representation on delinquency and youthful offender cases using the Positive Youth Development Approach.
• Utilize all necessary criminal defense skills for practice in district and superior courts.
• Provide post-dispositional advocacy and support to DYS committed youth.
• Conduct school-based advocacy.
• Work on projects aimed at improving legal representation and outcomes for court-involved children.
• Play a leadership role in efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile legal system.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees