What are the responsibilities and job description for the Capital Appellate Fellowship position at National Legal Aid & Defender Association?
Position Description
The Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) is currently seeking up to two candidates to join its dynamic team as Barry P. Helft Appellate Fellows. Ideal candidates for the Fellowship will be third-year law students. If you have a commitment to civil rights work on behalf of the most marginalized Californians, excellent writing skills, and a willingness to challenge yourself with high-level capital defense appellate work, please join us and help save lives.
Barry P. Helft worked nearly 50 years in the practice of law and spent 25 of those years at OSPD. His name is attached to this fellowship as the embodiment of the vow that OSPD lawyers make to their clients to provide the best representation available. OSPD fulfills that promise by providing the mentorship and training our attorneys need to become the best appellate litigators they can be. Barry made the same promise to each lawyer he trained: Regardless of your skill level when starting at OSPD, you will be a better lawyer when you leave than you were when you started. The goal of this fellowship is to continue to fulfill that promise to the next generation of appellate defenders.
The Barry P. Helft Fellow (Graduate Legal Assistant [GLA]) is a limited-term appointment in OSPD’s Appellate Fellowship Program. Fellows are employed at will, and the total term of employment is up to 24 months, subject to funding availability. Under direct supervision from a Supervising Deputy State Public Defender, or a designee, incumbents perform a wide variety of challenging legal work including: (1) providing high quality and effective assistance of counsel to indigent persons who are appealing their criminal convictions in the California Courts of Appeal and/or the California Supreme Court; (2) drafting amicus briefs and/or letters filed by OSPD on matters crucial to the development of criminal law as it relates to indigent defendants; (3) assisting in developing arguments in support of systemic litigation to address inequities in the criminal justice system.
Applicants must have current eligibility to take the California State Bar Exam. Persons in their last year of law school may compete in the examination but may not be appointed until they have eligibility to take the California State Bar Exam. Candidates who are already active members of the California Bar may apply to the Fellowship Attorney class at JC-437854.
The Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) is currently seeking up to two candidates to join its dynamic team as Barry P. Helft Appellate Fellows. Ideal candidates for the Fellowship will be third-year law students. If you have a commitment to civil rights work on behalf of the most marginalized Californians, excellent writing skills, and a willingness to challenge yourself with high-level capital defense appellate work, please join us and help save lives.
Barry P. Helft worked nearly 50 years in the practice of law and spent 25 of those years at OSPD. His name is attached to this fellowship as the embodiment of the vow that OSPD lawyers make to their clients to provide the best representation available. OSPD fulfills that promise by providing the mentorship and training our attorneys need to become the best appellate litigators they can be. Barry made the same promise to each lawyer he trained: Regardless of your skill level when starting at OSPD, you will be a better lawyer when you leave than you were when you started. The goal of this fellowship is to continue to fulfill that promise to the next generation of appellate defenders.
The Barry P. Helft Fellow (Graduate Legal Assistant [GLA]) is a limited-term appointment in OSPD’s Appellate Fellowship Program. Fellows are employed at will, and the total term of employment is up to 24 months, subject to funding availability. Under direct supervision from a Supervising Deputy State Public Defender, or a designee, incumbents perform a wide variety of challenging legal work including: (1) providing high quality and effective assistance of counsel to indigent persons who are appealing their criminal convictions in the California Courts of Appeal and/or the California Supreme Court; (2) drafting amicus briefs and/or letters filed by OSPD on matters crucial to the development of criminal law as it relates to indigent defendants; (3) assisting in developing arguments in support of systemic litigation to address inequities in the criminal justice system.
Applicants must have current eligibility to take the California State Bar Exam. Persons in their last year of law school may compete in the examination but may not be appointed until they have eligibility to take the California State Bar Exam. Candidates who are already active members of the California Bar may apply to the Fellowship Attorney class at JC-437854.
