The Immigration Impact Unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is seeking to fill the position of Staff Counsel I to provide immigration advice, training, and litigation support to court appointed attorneys throughout Massachusetts. The position allows for a hybrid work schedule and the possibility of additional flexibility for an attorney located in another part of the state.

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.

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, child welfare, 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.

OFFICE OVERVIEW

The Immigration Impact Unit (IIU) is physically located in the CPCS Malden Office, where it shares office space with several other CPCS units. Located just outside of Boston, Malden has an estimated population of 66,263 people in 2020. Malden is a diverse community with large Brazilian and Vietnamese populations. Malden has several MBTA bus lines and is served by the Orange Line T.

Although situated in Malden, the IIU serves the entire state of Massachusetts. In 2022, the IIU provided support to more than 1400 immigrants from over 96 countries. We worked with attorneys from every county in Massachusetts and all divisions of CPCS.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The IIU supports CPCS staff attorneys and bar advocates in all divisions of CPCS to provide equitable, client-centered representation to immigrant clients and provides technical assistance on collateral immigration issues. The IIU provides advice and expertise in individual cases on the impact of criminal and juvenile delinquency charges on a client’s immigration status, as well as the impact of a client’s immigration status on child welfare/family defense cases, mental health, and other civil commitment proceedings.

The Staff Counsel I will work under the direction of the Director of the Immigration Impact Unit and will work in close collaboration with other staff counsel in the IIU. The attorney will provide immigration analysis and advice on individual cases, provide litigation support on post-conviction motions, and draft amicus briefs in relevant cases. The attorney may engage in litigation on systemic issues involving immigration enforcement or impediments faced by immigrants in child welfare/family defense or other civil court-appointed cases.

The position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule and the possibility of additional flexibility for an attorney located in another part of the state.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

• Staff Counsel I must be committed to serving a culturally diverse, low-income population and must be eligible to practice law in Massachusetts, either as a member of the Massachusetts bar in good standing, or as the member of the bar of another jurisdiction eligible to engage in limited Massachusetts practice under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:04;
• Experience in criminal, child/welfare/family defense, or immigration law;
• Access to reliable transportation is required in order to travel to courts, meetings, and training locations that are not easily accessible by public transportation; and,
• Access to a personal computer with home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

• Experience in the interplay between Massachusetts criminal or child welfare/family defense law and federal immigration law is strongly preferred;
• Excellent analytic and writing skills;
• Prior in person and remote training experience, as well as video editing skills, are highly preferred;
• Proficiency with Excel and data analysis is strongly preferred; and,
• Candidates must be able to work independently and collaboratively and must be strongly committed to working with indigent immigrant clients.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties of the Staff Counsel I include, but are not limited to:

• Providing immigration advice and expertise on individual cases to court-appointed attorneys throughout Massachusetts;
• Providing litigation support to court-appointed attorneys on post-conviction motions filed to minimize adverse immigration consequences;
• Monitoring immigration-related issues before the Massachusetts appellate courts and filing amicus briefs when necessary;
• Drafting written resources, training materials, and practice advisories on relevant federal immigration law for Massachusetts practitioners;
• Developing and presenting training programs for court-appointed attorneys on immigration issues related to their practices;
• Litigating cases involving the role of the state criminal justice system in the enforcement of immigration law, the disparate treatment of immigrants in the child welfare/family defense system, or involving other inequitable treatment of immigrants within Massachusetts criminal and civil legal systems; 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, Ted Waterman, at ewaterman@publiccounsel.net