Director - Criminal Trial Support Unit

Overview

The Private Counsel Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defender agency, is seeking an experienced attorney to be the Director of the Criminal Trial Support Unit. The Director is responsible for ensuring statewide quality and excellence in the private counsel trial panel by providing leadership, oversight, and support to the state-wide criminal private counsel trial panel and leading CPCS’ efforts to ensure a strong panel of zealous criminal defense advocates committed to CPCS’ mission.

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.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of the Criminal Trial Support Unit (Director) provides leadership, oversight, and support to the state-wide criminal private counsel trial panel (approximately 1,500 attorneys, taking about 120,000 trial court assignments/year). The Director leads CPCS’ efforts to attract and retain a strong panel of zealous criminal defense advocates committed to CPCS’ mission and is responsible for ensuring statewide quality and excellence.  

The Director ensures that panel attorneys are supported so that they are in compliance with the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct and the CPCS Performance Standards of Practice (Performance Guidelines) pursuant to the Assigned Counsel Manual (ACM) policies and procedures. The Director works closely with the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Private Counsel Division (Deputy Chief Counsel) to ensure Division goals are accomplished. The Director also directly supervises a unit of 10 staff members.

Qualifications

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 

Candidates 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;
• Have a demonstrated commitment to the representation of indigent persons accused of crime, a minimum of eight years’ experience as a practicing criminal defense attorney (including both experience representing indigent criminal clients and significant jury trial, appellate, or equivalent relevant experience), and four years of managerial experience, or a comparable mix of relevant legal, managerial, and oversight/supervisory experience and skills;
• Applicants must have access to reliable transportation in order to travel to offices, courts, and other locations throughout the state that are not easily accessible by public transportation; and,
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

• Experience in district and superior court trial practice preferred;
• Experience as a bar advocate preferred;
• Familiarity with budget oversight and drafting contracts;
• A demonstrated commitment to providing high quality legal representation to poor people; experience working with culturally diverse, poor, and marginalized clients; and a nuanced understanding of how implicit biases impact members of racial, ethnic, and other minority groups;
• An ability to create, support, and nurture a diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent workplace;
• Excellent interpersonal, analytical, oral and written communication and organizational skills. A creative and pragmatic thinker;
• Ability to multi-task and strong attention to detail a must; and,
• Computer skills: Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook and Monday.com.

To apply: Candidates must submit a letter of interest and resume.  The letter of interest should include a description of the candidate’s trial, supervisory, administrative and/or management experience, as well as a discussion of their priorities and vision for leading the office. 

This position will remain open until filled, preference will be given to candidates who apply prior to August 19, 2026.

Responsibilities

RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties of the Director include, but are not limited to: 

• Providing leadership, supervision, and support to the Criminal Trial Support Unit staff attorneys and administrative professionals, including completing annual staff performance evaluations, providing in-house trainings, and promoting staff professional development;
• Overseeing the certification processes for the criminal private counsel panels;
• Overseeing the assignment of counsel policies and procedures for criminal District Court, Superior Court, and murder matters;
• Providing support to the 13 state-wide Bar Advocate Programs (BAPs), including the review and approval of budget, expense, and contract modification requests, as well as substantive support of approximately 41 private counsel supervising attorneys;
• Monitoring the private counsel trial panel’s compliance and investigating complaints of attorneys’ failure to comply with the CPCS Performance Guidelines pursuant to the ACM. Following investigations, making disciplinary recommendations to the Deputy Chief Counsel;
• Overseeing the pre-payment review of bills submitted by private counsel which reach or surpass the established threshold;
• Hiring, training, and supervising the staff responsible for the 24-hour murder hotline and overseeing the assignment of pre-arraignment counsel in murder cases;
• Collaborating with and supporting the Deputy Chief Counsel to further the goals and objectives of the Private Counsel Division;
• Collaborating with other CPCS Trial Panel Directors to ensure agency wide consistency in working with private assigned counsel;
• Collaborating with other CPCS Divisions and Units such as the Public Defender Division, the Training Department, Finance, Information Technology, Audit and Oversight, and Human Resources as appropriate;
• Responding to questions and concerns from clients, courts, judges, clerks, probation officers, Department of Correction and Sheriff Officials and other stakeholders; 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 sdebow@publiccounsel.net