Barry P. Helft Appellate Fellowship

State of California; California (MO); Sur place; USD 60 000 - 70 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Health, Vision, Dental, Retirement

Résumé du poste

The Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) is seeking up to two Barry P. Helft Appellate Fellows.

Ideal candidates are third-year law students with a commitment to civil rights work and excellent writing skills, prepared to engage in high-level capital and non-capital defense appellate work. Fellows are employed at will, for up to 24 months, under supervision, performing diverse appellate tasks including drafting briefs, researching precedents, and supporting systemic litigation efforts to

Qualifications

• Applicants must be in 3rd year of law school or a recent graduate with eligibility to take the California Bar.
• Commitment to public service and civil rights work in defense of marginalized Californians.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to handle high-level appellate work.

Responsabilités

• Provide high quality and effective assistance to indigent clients appealing criminal convictions.
• Draft amicus briefs or letters filed by OSPD on matters crucial to criminal law development.
• Assist in developing arguments supporting systemic litigation to address inequities in the criminal justice system.

Connaissances

Legal research

Legal writing

Analytical thinking

Team collaboration

Formation

Juris Doctor candidate

Outils

Westlaw / LexisNexis

Description du poste

The Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) is currently seeking up to two candidates to join its dynamic team as Barry P. Helft Appellate Fellows. Ideal candidates for the Fellowship will be third-year law students. If you have a commitment to civil rights work on behalf of the most marginalized Californians, excellent writing skills, and a willingness to challenge yourself with high-level capital and non-capital defense appellate work.

Barry P. Helft worked nearly 50 years in the practice of law and spent 25 of those years at OSPD. His name is attached to this fellowship as the embodiment of the vow that OSPD lawyers make to their clients to provide the best representation available. OSPD fulfills that promise by providing the mentorship and training our attorneys need to become the best appellate litigators they can be. Barry P. Helft made the same promise to each lawyer he trained: Regardless of your skill level when starting at OSPD, you will be a better lawyer when you leave than you were when you started. The goal of this fellowship is to continue to fulfill that promise to the next generation of appellate defenders.

The Barry P. Helft Fellow is a limited-term appointment in OSPD’s Appellate Division Fellowship Program. Fellows are employed at will, and the total term of employment is up to 24 months, subject to funding availability. Under direct supervision from an Attorney Supervisor, or a designee, the Graduate Legal Assistant (GLA) perform a wide variety of challenging legal work including: (1) providing high quality and effective assistance of counsel to indigent persons who are appealing their criminal convictions in the California Courts of Appeal and/or the California Supreme Court; (2) drafting amicus briefs and/or letters filed by OSPD on matters crucial to the development of criminal law as it relates to indigent defendants; (3) assisting in developing arguments in support of systemic litigation to address inequities in the criminal justice system.

Applicants must have current eligibility to take the California State Bar exam. Persons in their last year of law school may compete in the examination but may not be appointed until they have eligibility to take the California State Bar exam. Candidates who are already active members of the California Bar may apply to the Attorney Fellowship class at JC-526084.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

The State of California offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes Health, Vision, Dental, and Retirement benefits. For more information on what is offered by the State of California, please visit:

• The California Department of Human Resources CalHR website.
• The California Public Employees' Retirement System CalPERS website.

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

• GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Knowledge of legal research methods and performing research.
• Knowledge of legal principles and their application.
• Knowledge of the scope and character of California statutory law and the provisions of the California Constitution.
• Knowledge of principles of administrative, constitutional, and criminal law.
• Knowledge of trial and hearing procedures and rules of evidence.
• Knowledge of computer programs in an efficient and effective manner.
• Ability to perform research and investigation.
• Ability to analyze, appraise, and apply legal principles, and precedents to legal problems.
• Ability to present statements of fact, law, and argument clearly and logically in written and oral form.
• Ability to prepare correspondence and legal memorandums involving the explanation of legal.
• Ability to work in a team environment.
• Ability to develop and maintain good working relations with all levels of staff.
• Ability to maintain security and confidentiality of privileged information in compliance with applicable laws.

The Fellowship is designed for recent law school graduates who are committed to public service and have excellent writing skills.