PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, 20TH CIRCUIT- ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER - 21014492

Florida; Tallahassee (FL); On-site; USD 74,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

FRS Retirement

Health insurance

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Tuition waiver

Employee assistance program

Job summary

The Law Offices of the Public Defender, 20th Judicial Circuit, seeks qualified Assistant Public Defender across the circuit, including Fort Myers, Naples, Punta Gorda and LaBelle.

The role defends indigent clients, provides training and professional development opportunities, and requires a Florida Bar license. Applicants may interview while awaiting Bar results to join and progress within the Office.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate required and Florida Bar license.
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients and staff.
• Highly organized with strong writing and record-keeping skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide efficient, professional representation to clients.
• Advise on plea offers, rights, options, sentencing, and appellate rights.
• Maintain communications with clients, families, and court personnel.
• Coordinate with investigators, interns, and support staff.
• Attend training seminars, division meetings, and staffing sessions.

Skills

Effective communication

Professional demeanor

Organization

Travel to circuit locations

Client counseling

Education

Juris Doctorate

Tools

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Job description

Requisition No: 883768

Agency: Justice Administrative Commission

Working Title: PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, 20TH CIRCUIT- ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER - 21014492

Pay Plan: Pub.DefndrsJAC

Position Number: 21014492

Salary: $74,000.00 - $77,000.00

Posting Closing Date: 12/31/2026

Total Compensation Estimator

The Law Offices of the Public Defender, 20th Judicial Circuit, may be the place for you!

The agency is seeking qualified Assistant Public Defender applicants across the 20th Judicial Circuit, including Fort Myers, Naples, Punta Gorda, and LaBelle.

The work that public defenders do is vitally important. Becoming an Assistant Public Defender would allow you to be involved with the defense of indigent individuals accused of a crime and offers endless opportunities to make a real difference within the 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida. Attorneys at the agency are offered extensive entry-level training, as well as professional development opportunities.

A Florida Bar license is required to be placed in the Assistant Public Defender role.

In addition to current Florida Bar members, the agency will interview applicants who are awaiting admission to the Florida Bar, as well as applicants who are registered (or who plan to register) to take Florida Bar examination. These candidates may join the agency, ahead of Bar results, with the goal of becoming a member of the Florida Bar and transitioning to the Assistant Public Defender role thereafter.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibility of Assistant Public Defenders is to provide highly efficient and professional representation to our clients.

• Accepting, researching, and preparing each case efficiently and expeditiously.
• Advising and counseling each client regarding plea offers, client’s rights and options, strategies, sentencing, appellate rights, etc.
• Establishing and maintaining a professional relationship with each client, family, witness, and court personnel.
• Maintaining open lines of communication with clients and their families, witnesses, and court personnel.
• Involving investigators, interns and other support staff appropriately.
• Seeking assistance from experts appropriate to the case.
• Demonstrating maturity and a professional demeanor at all times.
• Exercising sound judgment to achieve desired results.
• Handling emergency assignments when needed.
• Attending and participating in training seminars, division meetings, and staffing sessions.
• Abiding by all Public Defender policies and procedures outlined in manual and performing other related work as required.

ABILITY TO

• Communicate effectively and professionally with clients and staff.
• Use correct English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Follow written and oral instructions and procedures.
• Exhibit sound judgment and good listening skills.
• Handle matters with integrity and confidentiality.
• Plan and prepare reports, correspondence, and charts in a variety of formats.
• Use personal computers and general office equipment.
• Be extremely organized, establish priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Maintain an effective filing system.
• Manage multiple assignments simultaneously including long- and short-range projects.
• Be flexible in work assignments and processes based upon need.
• Travel to various locations throughout the circuit for assignments and training.
• Effectively utilize Microsoft Word and Outlook.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Juris Doctorate

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, technical procedures, legal documents and governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence and transcripts.

REASONING ABILITY

Must be able to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Must be able to evaluate problems, isolate key issues, research and develop alternative solutions.

CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Valid Florida Driver’s license, Florida Bar License Required

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The noise level for this position is moderate.

EQUIPMENT UTILIZED

Personal computers, printers, copiers, scanners, telephones, calculators, cell phones

Job Type

Full-time

Salary

Starting at $74,000 - $77,000 depending on experience

Benefits

• Access to the Florida Retirement System
• Health/Dental/Vision/Life insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Tuition waiver
• Employee Assistance Program

Schedule

Flexible; Monday – Friday 8 am – 5 pm

Ability to commute/relocate

• Fort Myers, FL 33901
• Punta Gorda, FL 33950
• Labelle, FL 33935
• Naples, FL 34112

This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employee(s) will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

This position description has excluded the marginal functions of the position that are incidental to the performance of essential job duties. All duties and responsibilities are essential job functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the employee will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills and abilities. Employees of the Office of the Public Defender are at-will employees. This document does not create employment contract, implied or otherwise, and may be revised or rescinded at any time, due to operational necessity, at the sole discretion of the Public Defender.

The Law Offices of the Public Defender, 20th Judicial Circuit, is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS at on how your current benefits may be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be canceled, suspended, or deemed ineligible depending on the date of your retirement.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center ). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.