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Assistant Public Defender Positions
We hire entry level attorneys (with a preference for attorneys who have volunteer or intern experience within the criminal justice system) as well as felony level attorneys where two years criminal trial experience are required.
All candidates are expected to submit resumes, cover letters and
references.
All candidates are expected upon a job offer to commit to a minimum of
two years.
Please submit resumes and any questions to
resume@browarddefender.org
Internship Opportunities
SUMMER 2012 APPLICATION PROCESS
BEGINS FEBRUARY 1 , 2012 - ENDS APRIL 15, 2012
Legal Internship Programs
The Broward Public Defender’s Office offers
two types of internships for law students and undergraduate students:
certified (CLI's) and non-certified. Both programs afford invaluable
experience working alongside assistant public defenders. Unfortunately,
we have no paid internships.
CERTIFIED LEGAL INTERNS
The certified legal internship is limited to law school students who
have completed at least two years of law school and meet certification
requirements set by the Supreme Court of Florida. Interns are
"certified" by the state Supreme Court to represent our clients under
the supervision of attorneys in our office. The interns each work
closely with an experienced assistant public defender who acts as a
mentor. They do everything assistant public defenders do, such as handle
daily court calendars, conduct client interviews in the office and at
the jails, take depositions, engage in motion practice, and try cases.
The program is designed to be litigation intensive. To see if you are
eligible to become a CLI see Rule 11 of the Rules Regulating the Florida
Bar,
http://www.floridabar.org, and contact your school to initiate the
process.
NON-CERTIFIED INTERNS (VOLUNTEERS)
The non-certified internship is open to law students and undergraduate
students. Internships in
the Broward Public Defender’s Office may be performed for academic
credit, on a "work-study", or a volunteer basis. These interns provide
litigation support to our attorneys. With recent budget cuts there is
plenty for interns to do to assist our attorneys.
The assignments given to interns will depend on a variety of
factors including any related experience, skills and interests, and how
many law student interns we have.
In nearly every instance interns go to the jails during their
internship, so if this is something that makes you uncomfortable this
internship may not be a good fit for you. Interns are typically assigned
to Felony, Misdemeanor, Juvenile, Drug Court and Mental Health
Court divisions of the Public Defender's Office. They get extensive
experience by conducting client interviews, research and writing,
assisting in the investigation of a case, attending depositions,
contacting potential defense witnesses and observing courtroom
procedures. The volunteer experience often leads to a law student's
decision to become a Certified Legal Intern (CLI) at the Public
Defender's Office, or an undergraduate’s decision to attend law school.
We have a hiring preference for attorneys who have participated
as CLI's in this office, or to a lesser extent, another public defender
office, so starting as a volunteer intern is a very good first step.
The Broward Public Defender’s
Office requires a minimum of 20 hours per week for a semester, which is
difficult to do when taking a full course load. For this reason
the majority of our volunteer interns join us during the summer. Students
who are volunteering during their summer break, and not attending
classes are eligible, but are required to participate for a minimum of
six weeks. Although the minimum
requirement is 20 hours per week, the best experience will be had by
those who are able to be here day in and day out enabling them to get a
real view of the work our attorneys do. We realize that students have
exams and many students will want to take a vacation either early or
late in the summer. To the
extent possible we like to have interns start in groups so that we can
do some basic training on confidentiality, and on courthouse, office and
jail practices. The first day of the work week is hectic in the Broward
County courthouse with high numbers of jurors, witnesses and litigants,
so, we usually start our volunteers on Tuesdays.
We will
begin accepting resumes
beginningFebruary, 2012, for summer 2012. At
that time if you remain interested in interning during the
summer of 2012, please email your
resume to
internship@browarddefender.org
and put “Volunteer
Summer Intern 2012” in the subject
line. Send your resume, your date of birth and
what your ideal start date would be.
Please include any other scheduling
information or specific details about your circumstances that we might
need to determine your acceptance and best placement.
PRO BONO HOURS
We are unable to accommodate students for pro bono hours unless they
have previously completed a semester long internship with the Broward
Public Defender’s Office, OR, they commit to a minimum of 20 hours per
week for a semester as described above.