The Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking a family regulation/child welfare attorney with management experience to serve as Managing Director for its Family Justice Advocates (FJA) law firm, which currently consists of two multidisciplinary conflicts offices within its Children and Family Law Division (CAFL). In addition to leading, supporting, and overseeing those offices, the Managing Director will be responsible for creating, leading, supporting, and overseeing one or more specialized units, including a team focusing on the representation of transition age youth. The Managing Director will also be part of CAFL’s leadership team.

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

The Children and Family Law Division provides children, young adults, and indigent parents zealous legal representation in a range of civil matters involving families. These include care and protection (child neglect and abuse cases) cases; termination of parental rights cases; child requiring assistance matters, and guardianship-of-a-minor cases. Our multidisciplinary legal teams defend families against unwarranted governmental interference and protect the constitutional and statutory rights of their clients. CAFL provides leadership, training, and support to staff members and private attorneys throughout Massachusetts.

CAFL staff represent clients in 13 multidisciplinary litigation offices, 11 of which are part of CPCS’s main “Public Division” firm (which includes public defenders representing clients in other right-to-counsel matters). Two offices – one in Springfield and one in Worcester – are part of CAFL’s new FJA law firm, which handles assignments which the Public Division firm cannot because of conflicts. Most of CAFL’s work is handled by about 900 private attorneys whom CPCS trains and certifies as eligible to accept assignments and who are supported and overseen by our trial and appellate panel support units. Both private attorneys and staff are also supported by the CAFL Training Unit, which is part of CPCS’s Training Department.

CAFL’s client-directed legal advocacy plays a critical role in cases involving families. CAFL staff and private attorneys protect the rights of parents and children to remain together whenever possible and their right to be reunited quickly when children are removed from their homes. Our legal teams provide clients a voice and work to ensure that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and other agencies provide children, young adults, and parents the support and services they need and to which they are entitled under the law. For a parent involved in a C&P case, having a skilled CAFL attorney may mean the difference between the family’s reunification and the termination of parental rights. 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 or in congregate care. For siblings who are at risk of being separated, CAFL’s legal team will fight to ensure that they can stay together. 

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Managing Director is responsible for ensuring that FJA staff provide high-quality, client-centered, culturally humble representation to child, young adult, and parent clients in CAFL cases. The Managing Director achieves this by overseeing FJA’s two multidisciplinary litigation offices and providing direct supervision and support to the Attorneys in Charge (AICs) for each of those offices. The Managing Director may also oversee, supervise, and support a limited number of other FJA offices in the future if such offices are needed.

In addition, the Managing Director will be responsible for creating, leading, supporting, and overseeing one or more specialized units, including a Transition Age Youth unit. The Transition Age Youth unit will provide leadership, training, and technical support to attorneys representing older youth and young adult clients who are aging out of DCF foster care or who are under the responsibility of DCF (or considering that option) after turning 18. The unit may also directly represent a limited number of young adult clients. In collaboration with the Deputy Chief Counsel and other CAFL leaders, the Managing Director will advise the Chief Counsel regarding where the unit will be located, its size and staffing, and its core functions.

As a member of the CAFL leadership team, the Managing Director collaborates with CAFL’s Deputy Chief Counsel, two other Managing Directors, and other CAFL Directors to promote the division’s policy and program goals. The Managing Director also works with CPCS’s other legal practice divisions and CPCS’s legal support and operational units (Training, Human Resources, IT, Facilities, and General Counsel). The Managing Director reports directly to CAFL’s Deputy Chief Counsel.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants for this position must have a demonstrated commitment to the representation of indigent persons, at least eight years’ experience as a practicing family regulation/child welfare attorney, and at least four years of managerial experience.
• The Managing Director 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 in good standing or as the member of the bar of another jurisdiction eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
• Applicants must have access to reliable transportation in order to travel to offices, courts, and other locations throughout the state; and,
• Applicants must have access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

This position will remain open until filled, with preference given to candidates who apply prior to January 16, 2024.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

The position requires strong organizational skills, excellent communication skills, the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, the ability to manage people, and the capacity for close attention to detail.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leading and overseeing the management of FJA offices, the Transition Age Youth unit, and other specialty units to ensure the provision of courageous, client-centered, multidisciplinary representation to children, young adults, and parents;
• Overseeing the hiring and helping to facilitate the retention of attorneys and other staff in FJA offices, with the goal of developing and maintaining a skilled, collaborative, and diverse team in each office;
• Assisting AICs in creating and maintaining a positive, equitable, and inclusive workplace environment, in creating and promoting professional development opportunities for staff, and in addressing employee relations and performance issues;
• Identifying and addressing issues that may arise in connection with the operation of FJA offices and developing, recommending, and implementing policies regarding caseloads, supervision, performance, and other relevant standards needed to promote courageous, client-centered, multidisciplinary representation;
• Creating a Transition Age Youth unit to provide leadership, training, and technical support to attorneys representing young adult clients;
• In concert with other CAFL leaders, assessing the need for staff-based prepetition/preventive legal advocacy and other specialized units and establishing, leading, supporting, and overseeing such units;
• Working with other CAFL leaders to address shortcomings of the family regulation system that threaten or deny equal or meaningful access to justice for CAFL clients, that result in violations of clients’ substantive rights, or that perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities in the family regulation system;
• Using case-related data to promote high-quality representation, to identify systemic concerns, and to ensure that staff workloads are appropriate;
• Facilitating strong communication among staff whom the Managing Director oversees and between them and CPCS’s leadership team and other CPCS offices and units;
• Working with CPCS’s Training Department to identify and meet staff training needs;
• Investigating and responding to legal conflicts, legal ethics questions, performance issues, and complaints regarding attorney and non-attorney staff;
• Working with AICs, other Managing Directors, the Director of CAFL’s Trial Panel, and local CAFL bar leadership to promote collaboration between CAFL’s trial offices and local CAFL private attorneys;
• Working with judges and DCF leaders to address policy and practice concerns;
• Partnering with the CAFL Deputy Chief Counsel and other CAFL Directors to develop and execute division policies and plans and to develop and advance legislative and policy agendas;
• Working collaboratively with other CPCS leaders on cross-divisional and other issues as needed to promote agency goals and objectives; and,Performing 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 CPCS’s interim Chief Human Resources Officer, Mark Conlon, at mconlon@publiccounsel.net.