Indigent Defense External Counsel & Coverage Lead

Spokane County; Spokane (WA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Spokane County is seeking a senior administrative officer to ensure continuous case coverage across all case types when public defender, CFD, or indigent defense is unavailable due to conflicts or capacity issues.

The role reports to the Senior Director of Law & Justice and oversees conflict/external counsel assignment, contracting, budgeting, and coverage reporting to the Superior Court and County Commissioners.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Four (4) years of experience in legal service delivery/administration, contract oversight and management, budgeting or management of external service providers.
• Member of the Washington State Bar Association.
• An equivalent combination of related education and/or experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

• Receives conflict case referrals and assigns cases to qualified external counsel promptly.
• Ensures continuous case coverage by monitoring progress and addressing delays.
• Maintains records of referrals, assignments, timelines, and panel utilization.
• Develops, maintains, and oversees the external counsel panel.
• Drafts and renews contracts for external counsel and ensures compliance with policies.
• Reviews billing and manages the annual external counsel budget.
• Provides reports on coverage performance and budget status.
• Operates the conflict case management system and ensures data integrity.

Skills

Case management

Education

Juris Doctorate (J.D.)

Washington State Bar Association member

Tools

Case management software

Job description

Spokane County is seeking a senior administrative officer to ensure continuous case coverage across all case types when public defender, CFD, or indigent defense is unavailable due to conflicts or capacity issues.

The role reports to the Senior Director of Law & Justice and oversees conflict/external counsel assignment, contracting, budgeting, and coverage reporting to the Superior Court and County Commissioners.