APD III Training Division

National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Maryland; On-site; USD 99,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD) seeks a visionary litigator and educator to join its statewide Training Division as an Attorney Trainer. The role blends curriculum design, performance-based courtroom coaching, and direct litigation mentorship to elevate Maryland’s public defenders.

You will build high-impact programs that take new attorneys from orientation to complex felony trials, using modern adult-learning theory and dynamic advocacy techniques.

Qualifications

• Experience in trial advocacy and public defense training.
• Ability to design and deliver CLE programs and orientations.
• Proven track record of coaching attorneys and improving trial skills.
• Strong collaboration with public defenders and specialized units.

Responsibilities

• Design and facilitate foundational and advanced trial advocacy curricula.
• Provide intensive one-on-one coaching and feedback on mock performances and trials.
• Co-counsel complex trials with junior attorneys when needed.
• Conduct statewide needs assessments and track training outcomes.
• Maintain and update training materials, manuals, and templates.
• Collaborate across divisions to integrate advanced sciences into defense strategy.

Skills

Litigation

Curriculum design

Coaching

Mentorship

Adult learning

Job description

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD) is seeking a visionary, mission-driven litigator to serve as an Attorney Trainer within our statewide Training Division.

At MOPD, we provide zealous, client-centered, and constitutionally mandated representation to indigent individuals across Maryland. The Attorney Trainer is instrumental in cultivating our advocacy force. This position designs and delivers high-performance trial advocacy curriculums, provides intensive individualized litigation coaching, and occasionally co-counsels complex cases in the courtroom.

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender is a statewide agency that provides superior representation to indigent clients at all stages of the criminal case, including trial, appeal, and eligible post-conviction proceedings. Representation is provided through offices and services at 52 locations statewide with a workforce of approximately 1000 employees.

At MOPD, we use our legal education and expertise to fight for justice and fairness. As tenacious advocates, we refuse to remain silent amid human suffering. Our unique talents, identities, educational backgrounds, and perspectives guide us in providing superior representation to our clients. We stand firm against prejudice, systemic racism, and inequity in all communities and spaces. OPD promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of its work and welcomes candidates with lived experience in the criminal legal system.

Overview Of The Position

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD) is seeking an exceptional, forward-thinking litigator and educator to join our statewide Training Division as an Attorney Trainer.

At MOPD, we believe that every client—regardless of their background or financial resources—deserves elite, zealous, and client-centered advocacy. As an Attorney Trainer, you will not just teach the law; you will cultivate the skills, passion, and strategic thinking of our state’s public defenders. This role is a unique hybrid of strategic curriculum design, performance-based courtroom coaching, and direct litigation mentorship.

Operating from our Training Division headquarters with statewide reach, you will directly shape the legal minds defending our communities. You will build and lead high-impact training programs that take new attorneys from their first day of orientation to complex felony trials, using modern adult-learning models and dynamic trial advocacy techniques. If you are a seasoned trial lawyer with a passion for mentorship, a deep commitment to systemic equity, and the desire to empower the next generation of public defenders, this is your opportunity to make a systemic impact on justice in Maryland.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

Key responsibilities are divided into the following key programmatic areas:

• Curriculum Design & Instruction: Develop and facilitate MOPD’s foundational and continuing legal education (CLE) programs, including the intensive New Attorney Orientation and core programmatic partnerships like Gideon’s Promise. Design interactive workshops on all stages of litigation: voir dire, opening statements, cross-examinations, and sentencing advocacy.
• Individualized & Coaching; Mentorship: Conduct one-on-one video reviews of attorney mock performances and courtroom trials. Review and provide structured developmental feedback on written advocacy (motions to suppress, sentencing memoranda). Co-counsel complex trials with junior attorneys to provide live, structured courtroom mentorship.
• Evaluation & Quality Assurance: Conduct statewide litigation needs assessments across MOPD’s 12 operational districts. Design and track metrics to evaluate the long-term classroom retention of trial skills.
• Strategic Collaboration & Resource Creation: Partner with District Public Defenders and specialized divisions (e.g., Forensics, Mental Health) to incorporate advanced sciences into general trial defense. Maintain and update the division’s digital trial notebooks, manuals, and templates.
• Administration: Track attendance, manage certification credits, and complete standard agency data reporting.

Salary And Benefits

Salary is dependent on experience and salary rules will apply to State of Maryland employees.

This would be a lateral transfer for any internal candidates applying.

Assistant Public Defender III - starting at $109,794 (Grade 22, Step 10)

Please visit the State of Maryland Employee’s page to review benefit information.

Salary And Benefits:

Salary is dependent on experience and salary rules will apply to State of Maryland employees.

This would be a lateral transfer for any internal candidates applying.

Assistant Public Defender III - starting at $109,794 (Grade 22, Step 10)

Please visit the State of Maryland Employee’s page to review benefit information.