The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services is seeking a Supervising Staff Attorney to supervise Trial Attorneys and to provide family regulation representation for its Springfield Office.
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.
DIVISION OVERVIEW
Attorneys working with CPCS’s Children and Family Law Division represent parents, children and older youth, custodians, and guardians in cases in which the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is seeking custody of children and a limited number of other civil cases relating to families. Attorneys appointed to these cases represent clients in care and protection matters (know elsewhere as dependency or abuse and neglect cases) and in termination of parental rights, guardianship-of-a-minor, and child requiring assistance cases. Nearly all of these cases are heard in the Juvenile Court.
CAFL’s legal advocacy plays a critical role in cases that affect families. For a parent involved in a care and protection case, having a skilled CAFL legal team 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 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 with strangers. For siblings looking for stability after the court has freed them for adoption, the CAFL attorney will fight to ensure that they are provided a permanent home that allows them to stay together.
OFFICE OVERVIEW
The CAFL Springfield Trial Office is a robust defender team, including supervisors, attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and administrative support staff. They provide legal representation and advocacy throughout Hampden County to children and indigent adults in care and protection, child requiring assistance, termination of parental rights, guardianship-of-a-minor cases, and other types of custody and adoption proceedings. Team members work diligently to help and support CAFL clients to achieve their legal and life goals.
Springfield, the third largest city in Massachusetts, is located in Western Massachusetts along the Connecticut River. It is centrally located: Northampton is 25 minutes away, Hartford is 27 minutes away, Worcester is 55 minutes away, Boston is 90 minutes away, and New York City is 2 ½ hours away. Springfield is best known for being the birthplace of basketball and the home of Theodor Geisel, better known as “Dr. Seuss.”
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services is seeking a Supervising Staff Attorney with a minimum of five years of experience providing representation in Family Regulation cases for its Springfield office. Under the direction of the office’s Attorney in Charge, the Supervising Staff Attorney will assist in the supervision of staff Trial Attorneys. The Supervising Staff Attorney will also have his or her own reduced caseload. Clients are children and indigent parents who are parties to care and protection, child requiring assistance, termination of parental rights cases, and children and custodians in guardianship-of-a-minor cases in the Juvenile and Probate Courts of the Commonwealth. Attorneys interested in applying for this position are invited to submit an application, as described below.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The direct representation duties of the Supervising Staff Attorney include:
- Interviewing, consulting with, and advising adult clients;
- Visiting, interviewing, consulting with, and advising child clients and determining their positions, consistent with CAFL Performance Standards;
- Conducting investigation and obtaining discovery, including locating and interviewing witnesses, obtaining and reviewing documentary evidence, consulting with service providers, and exploring options regarding placement, visits, and services;
- Conducting legal research and writing;
- Preparing and filing appropriate motions;
- Preparing for and representing clients in pretrial proceedings, hearings, trials, and interlocutory appeals, as well as in the development of service and permanency plans, in court investigator meetings, negotiations, and informal advocacy;
- Advocating for appropriate services for clients and other family members;
- Conducting case-related research on clinical and medical issues;
- Working with consulting and testifying experts;
- Coordinating advocacy with CAFL social work staff; and,
- Other duties as assigned.
The supervisory duties of the Supervising Attorney include:
- Meeting with individual supervisees, individually and in groups, to review case preparation and performance;
- Supervising staff Trial Attorneys in court, including second-seating of trials and significant evidentiary hearings;
- Formally and informally evaluating the performance of staff attorneys;
- Planning and conducting in-office training;
- Supervising other staff, such as student interns, as directed by the office’s Attorney in Charge;
- Attending CAFL supervisor meetings; and,
- Other duties as assigned.
EEO Statement
The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran or military status, genetic information, gender identity, or sexual orientation as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other applicable federal and state statutes and organizational policies. Applicants who have questions about equal employment opportunity or who need reasonable accommodations can contact the Chief Human Resources Officer, Sandra DeBow-Huang, at sdebow@publiccounsel.net