Public Defender Jobs

About The Position

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.
• Five or more years of practical experience in the field of criminal law is required.
• 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 and the ability to learn and work with various client management software (Defender Data.)
• You must have good oral communication and organizational skills, writing skills and typing skills.
• 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

• 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 Courts in Weber and/or Morgan Counties as assigned including representation in all phases of the court process from initial appearance, to trial, sentencing and/or dismissal of a case. Must be able to competently and professionally handle the most serious and complex criminal actions through jury trials.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Any one position may not include all of the duties listed, nor do the listed examples include all duties which may be found in positions of this class. Applicants must be prepared to demonstrate the ability to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Benefits

• Health
• Dental
• Vision
• Retirement
• 401k match
• Sick/Vacation
• Life Insurance
• Short-term Disability
• Accident
• Critical Illness
• Parental Leave
• Maternity Leave