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Position Summary: The Managing Attorney – Protective Orders (PO Manager) supervises staff attorneys, legal advocates, and volunteers in the courthouse offices and Family Justice Centers. The PO Manager advises and represents victims of intimate partner violence in protective and peace order proceedings, and in related matters such as contempt, modification, extension and shielding proceedings. The PO Manager delivers client-focused legal services by working with clients to determine their objectives and develop realistic strategies for achieving those objectives, through assessment and awareness of clients’ particular social and cultural needs, by developing safety plans specific to clients’ particular circumstances, and by seeking and processing clients’ feedback. This position carries a caseload of protective/peace order cases, supports the Clinic’s fundraising efforts, and participates in the Clinic’s advocacy efforts (appellate work, legislation, training, etc.). The PO Manager participates in the identification of systemic obstacles for victims of intimate partner violence, and assists in formulating a plan and strategies for the removal of these obstacles, including innovative legal strategies, community education, and appellate or legislative advocacy. This position manages the Clinic’s courthouse offices in their jurisdiction.
Qualifications:
- Licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland.
- At least one year’s experience practicing intimate partner violence law, domestic relations law, or criminal law.
- Experience in intimate partner violence or related field.
- Ability to learn and litigate civil protective orders and related contempt’s, modifications and appeals.
- Must be able to advocate on behalf of victims of intimate partner violence.
- Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with individuals of diverse backgrounds, including clients, House of Ruth staff, and members of the community.
- Demonstrated commitment to the provision of legal services.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple tasks at one time.
- Ability to write well.
- Computer literate (MS Word, internet, email).
- Ability to travel among HRM offices and courthouse offices.
- Ability and willingness to implement management decisions, which s/he has not participated in making.
- Ability to handle progressively more complicated family law/intimate partner violence cases.
- Ability to supervise staff attorneys and support staff.
- Must be current in knowledge of family law, criminal law, court procedure, and other aspects of the law relevant to practice.
- Strong advocacy skills on behalf of victims of intimate partner violence in various environments, such as the courtroom, in community meetings, with opposing counsel, in bar association meetings, etc.
- Ability to manage courthouse offices.
- Ability to identify barriers intimate partner violence victims encounter and develop strategies to overcome these barriers.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and shift quickly between multiple tasks.
- Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with individuals of diverse backgrounds, including clients, House of Ruth staff, and members of the community.
- Ability to effectively use a computer for data entry, work processing, email and other functions.
- Strong grant reporting skills.
- Strong outreach skills.
- Strong interpersonal and interviewing skills.
- Strong time management and office maintenance skills.
- Ability to pass a criminal background check
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Supervise staff attorneys, legal advocates, and volunteers in the courthouse and Family Justice Center offices, and other offices as assigned, by ensuring staff are properly trained to perform assigned duties, encouraging and supporting growth and development of staff, fostering a positive work environment, and addressing performance or behavioral problems with staff in a timely manner.
- Meet weekly with direct reports for a one-on-one check in, or a team meeting, to provide feedback and direction.
- Holds team meetings regularly.
- Provide high quality, client-centered representation to clients in protective and peace order cases. Specific duties include:
- Engage in all forms of litigation preparation, such as evidence collection, depositions, lay and expert witness identification and preparation, and settlement negotiations.
- Engage in effective litigation techniques, such as persuasive oral argument, witness preparation and testimony, expert witness presentation, presentation of physical, documentary and other types of evidence, cross-examination and impeachment.
- Engage in appellate litigation as needed, including filing of appeals and petitions for writs of certiorari, researching appellate issues, writing appellate briefs, conducting moot arguments, and arguing before Maryland in banc panels and appellate courts.
- Knowledge of and compliance with all ethical and legal requirements for attorneys.
- Conduct comprehensive intake interviews and provide legal information, referrals, and advocacy to victims of intimate partner violence.
- Conduct lethality assessments and create safety plans with all clients.
- Inform clients about and register them for notification from VINE Protective Order.
- Manage the POARP office calendar to insure clients are being interviewed and accepted/rejected for services promptly.
- Promptly serve walk in clients and return phone calls within 24 hours.
- Promptly accept or reject clients requesting representation and give referrals to clients who are rejected for representation.
- Provide legal consultation and referrals regarding matters tangentially related to intimate partner violence, including criminal charges, immigration, landlord-tenant, and unemployment.
- Acquire and maintain knowledge of family and domestic violence law, trial skills and practice, best practices and regularly review recent court decisions on family law, intimate partner violence cases, civil litigation and evidence.
- Acquire and maintain knowledge of the resources and services available to clients and how clients can access them.
- Perform conflicts checks and input client data into computer database.
- Create and maintain clients files, including regular data entries in each client’s database file on services rendered.
- Meet representation goals as set by Clinic Director and all requirements of grant(s) funding position.
- Coordinate with other programs that provide representation to victims of intimate partner violence.
- Assist in training and provide technical assistance to staff of criminal justice agencies, including police, state’s attorneys, probation officers and court personnel and other agencies as requested.
- Establish and maintain cordial and professional relationships with all courthouse personnel.
- Liaise with the legal community to improve the legal community’s and the courts’ responses to victims of intimate partner violence.
- Recruit and maintain relationships with private attorneys to perform pro bono legal services on behalf of Clinic clients.
- Identify systemic obstacles that impair victims’ access to a fair judicial process, and work within the Clinic to formulate goals and strategies to remove these obstacles.
- Publicize and educate the legal community about the needs of victims of intimate partner violence.
- Pursue and deliver speaking engagements on behalf of the agency.
- Create and maintain clean and efficient walk-in courthouse offices.
- Insure that offices have working office equipment, supplies and resource materials for clients.
- Recruit, train and supervise students, interns and volunteers to provide client advocacy services and office support.
- Complete requirements of all grants, including written reports in a timely manner.
- Provide timely data for all reports required by all funding sources, including regular written reports.
- Conduct follow-up surveys and research inquiries regarding the efficacy of representation services.
- Assesses individual staff skill sets on an on-going basis, mentors and develops staff accordingly and delegates responsibility accordingly.
- Other duties as assigned.
Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
Authority:
- Recommend to Clinic Director hiring and firing of staff.
- Hire and fire interns/volunteers.
- Discipline staff with consent of Clinic Director.
- Reassign staff among offices with consent of Clinic Director.
- Direct work of paralegals, advocates, volunteers and interns on assigned cases.
- Accept and reject cases for representation.
- Approve timesheets.
- Review travel expenses and approve in Clinic Director’s absence.
- Approve vacation and personal leave for supervisees.
- Represent House of Ruth to outside agencies with approval of Clinic Director.
Accountability/Measures of Success:
- Consistently meets goals as set by Clinic Director.
- Consistently provides services to clients with highest level of professionalism and expertise.
- Supervisees are meeting job expectations.
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