Employment
Deputy Public Defender – Open to members in good standing with the California Bar Association. Prior trial experience strongly considered. Overall commitment to excellence and dedication to indigent criminal defense a must. Attorneys are responsible for handling a demanding caseload through all phases of litigation while coordinating the efforts of their support team, including investigators, paralegals, experts and legal processing clerks. Professional development by attending trainings both within and without the office expected. Salaries start at $98,514.
Public Defender Investigator – Investigators independently examine the facts and witnesses in a case. Duties include locating and interviewing witnesses, examination of evidence, preservation and re-creation of crime scenes, and the serving of subpoenas. Investigators confer with the defense team on the preparation and defense of criminal cases, testifying in court as necessary.
Candidates must possess strong people skills, the ability to look beyond assumptions, and the willingness to reexamine facts. Tenacity and creativity are also important job skills. Click on this link to register for electronic notification of job opportunities and see salary information: How to apply.
Paralegal – Paralegals provide attorneys with litigation support, including legal research; follow-up client interviews; preparing social histories; assisting in the preparation of legal documents and instruments; creating trial binders and exhibits, creating PowerPoint presentations and taking notes during trial.
Paralegals must be self-motivated and possess excellent organization and communications skills. Click on this link to register for electronic notification of job opportunities and see salary information: How to apply.
Social Worker – Social workers interview and assess Public Defender clients in order to develop a re-entry service plan or referrals to substance abuse, mental health, as well as vocational training programs. Social workers play an important role in the defense team, providing attorneys with the means to advocate for alternatives to incarceration and sentence mitigation.
Candidates should possess work experience in programs that provide services to incarcerated individuals or to individuals battling chemical dependency. Click on this link to register for electronic notification of job opportunities and see salary information: How to apply.
Support Staff – Clerks, transcriptionists, and receptionists form the Public Defender’s support staff team. Support staff perform detailed clerical work, including retrieving legal documents; responding to inquiries made in-person and over the telephone; utilizing computer terminals to retrieve and input information; assembling legal papers and case files; filing motions and other legal papers; distributing mail and delivering legal papers; evaluating and transcribing various types of documents by listening to dictated material and operating transcribing equipment; interfacing with office staff, clients and members of the public.
Candidates must be flexible and thrive in a fast paced environment. Click on these links to register for electronic notification of job opportunities and see salary information: How to apply for Legal Process Clerk position and How to apply for Transcriber/Typist position.
1458 LEGAL SECRETARY
The Public Defender’s Office seeks a Legal Secretary to provide legal secretarial and clerical services, of a difficult and responsible nature. The duties associated with the position include but are not limited to: word processing, formatting, proofing and editing a wide variety of legal documents; transcribing documents when necessary, responding to requests for information from attorneys, government representatives and the public; creating and maintaining various databases; gathering and electronically reporting unit performance statistics; preparing reports on conflicts assignments; creating office-wide web surveys; handling correspondence with the private defense bar regarding training; MCLE record-keeping; creating flyers and brochures for office functions and public initiatives; designing charts and exhibits for use in criminal trials; manage web content for office intranet. Legal Secretary I must also provide general administrative support in the absence of the Executive Assistant to the Public Defender. Performance of essential functions requires use of a personal computer, including word processing, e-mail, internet, spreadsheet and/or database applications and web content management.
To view the full job announcement and begin the online application process, click on this link.