Senior Deputy Defender

Closing Date: 12th April, 2024

Description:

General Information:
The Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) is seeking applicants for Senior Deputy Defender in the Appellate Division's Criminal Appellate Section.

The Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) is an independent body charged with establishing and maintaining a public defense system that ensures the provision of public defense services consistent with the Oregon Constitution, the United States Constitution and Oregon and national standards of justice. The Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court appoints the thirteen Commission members with input from all three branches of government.

The Commission's primary charge is to establish "a public defense system that ensures the provision of public defense services in the most cost-efficient manner consistent with the Oregon Constitution, the United States Constitution and Oregon and national standards of justice."

The Commission appoints the Executive Director for the OPDC. The Office is comprised of the Appellate Division (including the Juvenile Appellate Section), and Business Services. Business Services includes Contract & Financial Services, Human Resources, Operations, Research & Information Technology, and the General Counsel's Office.

The Business Services division is responsible for administering the public defense contracts that provide legal representation for financially eligible persons. These contracts provide trial-level representation and appellate representation on cases not handled by the Appellate Division.

The Appellate Division provides constitutionally mandated representation in the appellate courts to financially eligible persons in criminal cases, to parents in juvenile dependency cases, and to inmates appealing administrative decisions from the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision.

A Senior Deputy Defender in the Criminal Appellate Section provides appellate representation in the state appellate courts to clients in direct appeals from contempt and criminal cases and judicial review of decisions of the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision. The primary purpose of this position is to provide appellate representation to clients in misdemeanor and felony criminal cases and parole cases, while managing a high-volume caseload and working collaboratively in a team environment.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Case Management

• Review transcripts and records from circuit court and parole board proceedings.
• Identify and research potential legal issues for appeal.
• Write and file motions, briefs, and petitions.
• Present oral argument before the state appellate courts.
• Maintain acceptable work production levels.

Communication:

• Respond to inquiries from clients, opposing counsel, and the courts.
• Respond to inquiries from members of the public and, occasionally, the media and the Oregon State Bar.
• Occasionally serve as “officer of the day” by responding to inquiries from trial attorneys, handling time-sensitive matters for attorneys who are unavailable, and responding to various matters that arise during the assigned duty.

• Prepare for, attend, and constructively participate in and/or facilitate weekly team meetings.
• Participate in training and mentoring new attorneys.
• Edit briefs for attorney colleagues.
• Assist other attorneys in preparation for oral arguments by reading briefs, providing feedback, and participating in moot courts.

• Engage in effective team participation through a willingness to assist and support coworkers, supervisors, and other work-related associations.
• Develop good working relationships with clients, coworkers, and supervisors by actively participating in office-wide activities and programs and by identifying and resolving problems in a constructive, collaborative manner.
• Contribute to a positive, respectful, and productive work environment in a manner that fosters and promotes the importance and value of a diverse, discrimination- and harassment-free workplace.
• Respect diversity of opinions, ideas, and cultural differences.
• Demonstrate independence and critical thinking.
• Other duties as may assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Oregon appellate experience handling difficult legal assignments with minimal supervision.
• Strong analytic, research, analysis, and writing, and advocacy skills.
• Several years of experience in criminal appellate law.
• Demonstrable knowledge of substantive and procedural criminal law, constitutional law, appellate procedure and rules of evidence.
• Ability to analyze legal documents, organize facts to effectively present evidence and other material in written and oral form, and to present persuasive arguments in written and oral form.
• Ability to facilitate team meetings and moot courts in a manner that encourages participation, leads to productive discussion, develops issues and arguments, and improves advocacy.
• Ability to mentor and offer constructive feedback to attorneys to help improve analysis, writing, and oral presentation.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, colleagues, judges, and opposing counsel.

Minimum Qualifications:
To qualify for consideration for the position, the individual must be a graduate from an accredited college of law, be a member in good standing of the Oregon State Bar And have three years' experience providing direct representation in criminal appeals.

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