Full-Time Inclusivity Fellowship
Job Description
Are you passionate about social justice reform and committed to diversity and equity? Are you passionate about helping indigent people accused of criminal or delinquent acts? Do you believe that holistic, team-oriented representation is essential for all people accused of criminal or delinquent acts? Are you interested in starting your own law office? Do you have lived experiences as a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community member or are you a person with meaningful connections to BIPOC community? If so, then this is a great opportunity to make a difference! The Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel is offering a unique opportunity for a BIPOC community member or a person with a meaningful connection to BIPOC communities to develop a private law practice in Colorado.
About Us:
The Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC) is the legislatively created state agency responsible for providing client services and legal representation for indigent individuals (adults and youth) when the state has charged them with a criminal or delinquent act and the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender has a conflict of interest. The OADC accomplishes this by contracting with over 400 private attorneys and another 500 legal service providers (forensic social workers/clinical advocates, paralegals, investigators, legal researchers, case assistants, legal interns, etc.) to provide client services on an hourly basis. Our fundamental belief is that good holistic legal defense teams produce good results for our clients.
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC), through the practice of holistic public defense, is to help adults and children who the government has charged with criminal and delinquent offenses. The OADC’s holistic practice model fosters ethical, informed, and standard-driven best practices in public defense. The OADC allocates resources in a manner intentionally designed to rebalance the disparate power wielded by the government in the criminal legal system. OADC advocates for every client’s inherent worth and dignity by centering the client’s lived experiences and voice to achieve the best legal outcome.
The OADC is dedicated to zealous, client-centered advocacy rooted in social justice, integrity, and humility. We recognize that we are working within a broken and racist criminal legal system. Public defense advocates play an essential role in challenging bias and disparity within the courtroom, within our offices, and within ourselves. Statistical data and experiences support that there is a disparate presence of violent policing, over-charging, and harsher sentencing outcomes for Colorado’s people of color and other vulnerable populations. The OADC is unwavering in its support of decarceration, the decriminalization of youth, and equity within the criminal legal system.
About the Job:
The legal field suffers from a lack of diversity nationwide. Colorado’s legal community is no different. The pool of attorneys contracting with the OADC is a microcosm of the larger systemic problem. While the lack of diversity is generally problematic for the legal community, it is especially problematic in the criminal legal system where the over-prosecution and resulting mass incarceration of BIPOC individuals is a national tragedy.
There is an undeniable benefit when people whose lived experiences as BIPOC community members or people with meaningful connections to BIPOC communities, participate in the system as attorneys and other legal professionals. Rather than continuing to wait for the larger pool of attorneys to become more diverse, the OADC intends to increase the number of contracting attorneys whose lived experiences reflect membership in or who have a meaningful connection with BIPOC communities while also increasing the diversity of the Colorado legal community.
This Inclusivity Fellowship Program is the ultimate public-private partnership. This Fellowship will provide a lawyer (most likely a recent graduate) with a state employee position with a State of Colorado salary and benefits for up to two years while the fellow develops their emerging practice. This employee position will begin as early as March of 2023 and will terminate no later than two years from the date of hire. The exact duration of the fellowship will be tailored to meet the needs of the individual fellow and their future business. During that time, the OADC will provide “wrap-around” mentorship from experienced criminal and youth defense practitioners to assist with developing appropriate legal skills, case management, and professional development. In addition, the OADC has a robust training program to further aid in professional development.
Although the project is geared toward developing an attorney who is proficient in indigent defense, we understand that the fellow may need to develop a well-rounded practice that involves representing people in more than just criminal matters. It is anticipated that the fellow will work to build relationships so that at the conclusion of their fellowship, they can develop other sources of income including private representation, court-appointed work in dependency and neglect cases through other state agencies (e.g., the Office of the Child’s Representative or the Office of Respondent Parent Counsel), and partnerships with civil litigation associations such as Legal Aid (Colorado Legal Services). As such, the OADC has partnered with other entities to provide further mentorship assistance in areas of law other than criminal defense to meet the individual interests of each fellow.
Other duties deemed necessary to help fulfil our Mission.
The OADC is a collaborative workspace designed for people who thrive in a team environment. This position reports to the Attorney Development Coordinator and will engage with all members of the OADC team.
About You:
The ideal candidate is passionate about team-oriented, holistic public defense and zealous in their commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and empathy. This person must have values closely aligned with the OADC’s Mission Statement and be especially dedicated to:
- Team oriented holistic defense;
- Ending the over-policing, prosecution, and incarceration of vulnerable populations traditionally over-represented in the criminal legal system; and
- Increasing opportunities for historically under-represented people in America’s legal system.
This person must have lived experiences as a BIPOC community member or be a person with meaningful connections to BIPOC communities and reflect an affinity for BIPOC community members that are overrepresented in the criminal legal system and subjected to mass incarceration.
The ideal candidate must want to create their own business and cannot desire to be a long-term government employee. The state legislature has only allotted us a two-year fellowship to provide this person with government employee benefits prior to launching their own business. Thus, this model is designed to support the fellow in developing the invaluable tools and resources to launch their legal practice at the completion of their fellowship.
The person must be collaborative, possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, and be innately creative and self-motivated.
If you are offered employment, the following are the conditions of employment:
- Be a current resident of the state of Colorado or become a resident of the state of Colorado within 30 days of the hire date.
- The fellow is not required to work in the OADC Denver office and may be located outside of the Denver metro area.
- Be currently licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado or will be licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado within 90 days of the hire date. For graduating law students, this fellowship is contingent upon passing the Colorado Bar Exam.
- Be willing to submit a routine background investigation, including a criminal history check.
- If hired, the Immigration Reform and Control Act requires you to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the United States within three workdays.
- The ability to work remotely and in an office setting.
You will be required to provide three references in addition to the following documents:
- Resume – Required
- Cover letter – Highly preferred
- Letters of Reference – Highly preferred
The State of Colorado is committed to providing employees with a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that supports you, your health, and your family. Click here for further information about State of Colorado Employee Benefits.
How to Apply
Complete the online application at the link below by 11:59 PM on February 28, 2023. Please add noreply@fs2.formsite.com as a safe sender. Once you submit your application, you will receive an automatic email from Formsite. If you cannot find this email, please look in your spam/junk folder. https://fs2.formsite.com/OADC/iiszwukrva/index.html Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Faxed, mailed, or emailed applications will not be accepted. Please direct any additional inquiries or questions to jobs@coloradoadc.com. Monthly Salary Range: $5,516-$8,108 Annual Salary Range: $66,192-$97,296 FLSA Status: Exempt Location: Colorado The Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, religion, social class, national origin, marital or parental status, pregnancy, disability status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or political affiliation. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and an environment of representation diversity and we encourage individuals of many identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply. To request accommodation, please contact Daniel Nunez at daniel@coloradoadc.com or (303) 515-6924 as soon as possible. Any person with a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), may be provided a reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to participate in the hiring process. The person making the request may be asked to provide additional information regarding functional limitations and the type of accommodation needed, which will be kept confidential. Preparation may be required, so timely requests for accommodation are appreciated.130 total views, 0 today