Legal Training Attorney Rotation - CAFL Training Unit, Training Department

Committee for Public Counsel Services (Commonwealth of Massachusetts); Boston (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is seeking a Children and Family Law Legal Training Attorney to educate and empower CAFL staff and private counsel, advancing zealous representation for clients across Massachusetts.

The role involves planning, delivering, and refining training programs, collaborating with trial and appellate units, and developing resources for CAFL practitioners. This is a three-year rotation with travel across the state and a base in the Boston area.

Qualifications

• Eligible to practice law in Massachusetts or admitted elsewhere with MA practice eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Plan, teach and coach CAFL certification trainings and events.
• Participate in CAFL training needs assessments.
• Collaborate with trial and appellate panel support units and staff offices to deliver training and support initiatives.
• Design and deliver training workshops for private attorneys and staff.
• Write and edit training materials for CAFL practitioners.
• Maintain CAFL web-based training resources.
• Contribute to cross-practice working groups and cross-division collaborations.
• May manage a small CAFL caseload and perform other duties.

Skills

Litigation experience

Cultural humility

Training presenter

Appellate law

Expert witnesses

Writing skills

Organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

Curriculum development

Distance learning tech

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Tools

Zoom

Learning Management System (LMS)

Job description

Overview

The Training Department of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the public defender agency for Massachusetts, is seeking a lawyer with experience in family regulation law to be a Legal Training Attorney in the Children and Family Law (CAFL) Practice Area. This position will be a rotation for three years and is considered a lateral transfer. The CAFL Training Director is located in Boston but the Legal Training Attorney rotation position will remain assigned to their current office location and will be expected to travel throughout the state as needed.

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.

TRAINING DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The CPCS Training Department develops and delivers comprehensive, practice-driven education for staff and private assigned counsel across all areas of public defense. Through a team of experienced practice area trainers in Criminal Defense, Children and Family Law, Youth Advocacy, and Mental Health Litigation, the Department provides rigorous substantive instruction alongside advanced skills training that reflects the realities of modern indigent defense practice. Our programming is informed by evolving law, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the lived needs of the clients we serve, and is designed to meet the highest standards of excellence in public defense training nationwide.

In addition to core practice-area offerings, the Department leads agency-wide training initiatives in areas such as appellate and post-trial advocacy; emerging adult representation; forensic issues; holistic defense; leadership, management, and professional development; and wellness, These integrated training pathways equip attorneys not only with technical legal proficiency, but with the strategic, collaborative, and management competencies required for effective client-centered advocacy. By investing in continuous professional development, the Training Department strengthens the quality, consistency, and impact of representation provided by CPCS staff and private counsel statewide.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Children and Family Law Legal Training Attorneys work collaboratively to educate, train, enable, empower, and support children and family law attorneys so they may provide excellent representation and client-centered advocacy to the agency’s clients. Children and Family Law Legal Training Attorneys serve staff and private lawyers accepting appointments through the Children and Family Law Division of CPCS.

While the CAFL Training Director is based in Boston, the CAFL Training Attorney Rotation will remain assigned to their current location, although they will be expected to travel throughout the state as needed.

This is a rotation position available for up to three years. The Legal Training Attorney reports to the Children and Family Law Training Director.

Qualifications

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

• Must be eligible to practice law in this jurisdiction as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, or as an attorney in another jurisdiction who is eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
• A minimum of 3 years full-time experience representing children and parents in child welfare/family regulation matters (4 years preferred);
• Access to reliable transportation in order to travel to various training locations and courts across the Commonwealth; and,
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely and proficiency using zoom and/or other online platforms.

Eligibility for your application must be approved by your Managing Director pursuant to the Rotation Process Guidance.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

A successful candidate will have experiencein some or allof the following areas:

• Significant litigation and trial experience;
• Cultural humility, antiracism, and/or diversity and inclusion training, course work, and other relevant experience;
• Experience as a presenter or coach at training programs or at in-house office training sessions;
• Appellate and administrative law experience;
• Significant work with expert witnesses;
• Excellent writing, litigation, and oral presentation skills;
• Exceptional organizational ability;
• Exceptional interpersonal skills;
• Curriculum development; and,
• Technological proficiency, including distance learning.

Responsibilities

Duties of the Children and Family Law Legal Training Attorney include, but are not limited to:

• Planning, teaching and coaching at CAFL’s certification training programs and specialized training events;
• Participating in children and family law training needs assessments;
• Working collaboratively with CAFL’s trial and appellate panel support units and staff offices to deliver training and support other initiatives;
• Designing, revising, and delivering training workshops for private attorneys and staff;
• Assisting with training projects for support staff and management/leadership training events;
• Writing and editing training materials and other written resources for CAFL practitioners;
• Assisting with the development and maintenance of CAFL web-based training and resource initiatives;
• Participating in one or more of the Training Department’s Cross-Practice Working Groups;
• Collaborating cross-divisionally to provide exceptional and current trainings that support the zealous representation of clients across CPCS;
• May maintain a small CAFL caseload; 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 [e-mail]