Regional Director for Client Services (10109156)

About the Department
Under the direction of the Deputy Chief Public Defender (DCPD), provides management and operational oversight of assigned LOPD district offices and units. Provides direction, guidance, coaching, and support to District Defenders and other managerial and supervisory staff to promote effective office operations, caseload management, staffing, including planning and conducting hiring panels, employee development, and delivery of client services consistent with LOPD's mission.

The position exercises delegated management authority over assigned offices, units, and districts and works collaboratively with District Defenders to identify operational and staffing needs, develop and implement strategies, support recruitment and retention, coordinate training and professional development, and promote consistent application of LOPD policies and practices. The position serves as a management liaison between the DCPD and District Defenders and represents or provides coverage for the DCPD and District Defenders in designated administrative, operational, and case representation or docket coverage as assigned.

Depending on the judicial district moderate to extensive travel may be required including overnight stays. The Regional Director for Client Services shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Public Defender and be report directly to the Deputy Chief Public Defender. This position is an appointed position by the Chief Public Defender.

Position Duties
Supervision and Administrative Oversight:
•This role operates under the direction of the DCPD while exercising delegated management and operational oversight of District Defenders and their respective district offices and units.
•Under the direction of the Deputy Chief Public Defender (DCPD), oversees and assists with the management of assigned LOPD district offices and units and provides direction, guidance, and operational support to District Defenders and other managerial and supervisory staff.
•Ensures assigned LOPD district offices and units comply with agency policies and applicable State and Federal laws.
•Oversees, evaluates, coaches, and guides District Defenders and other assigned managerial and supervisory staff in the management and development of assigned LOPD district offices and units.
•Advises and assists District Defenders and managerial/supervisory staff in resolving low-level disciplinary matters and grievances and coordinates with the DCPD on matters requiring higher-level review or intervention.
•Provides direction, training, and consultation to District Defenders regarding office administrative functions, including but not limited to office and support staff organization, utilization of FTE and classifications, reclassification, workflow, and case management efficiency to best support LOPD clients and mission.
•Monitors caseloads for assigned district offices and units and works with District Defenders and managerial and supervisory staff to identify coverage needs, allocate available resources, and secure caseload coverage.
•Oversees and collaborates with District Defenders on recruitment, hiring, compensation, and retention activities, including but not limited to reviewing applicant lists, scheduling interviews, leading hiring panels, requesting salary offers, extending offers, and reviewing Temporary Salary Increase (TSI) requests.
•Collaborates with and provides guidance to District Defenders in onboarding new attorneys and coordinating ongoing attorney training for assigned LOPD district offices and units.
•Collaborates with the Attorney Training and Recruitment Director on new training and recruitment programs and initiatives, including training and/or supervising participants in the new skills based pathway program.
•Provides management and administrative coverage for the DCPD and/or District Defenders as assigned, including timesheet approvals within SHARE.
•Represents or provides coverage for the DCPD at Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and serves as the DCPD’s designee at any other criminal legal partner meetings, as needed.
•Attends meetings with Judges in collaboration with District Defenders and represents or provides coverage for the DCPD and/or District Defenders as assigned.
•Provides in-person or virtual docket coverage on behalf of the DCPD and/or District Defenders as operational needs require.
•Accepts case assignments in district offices as needed to support client representation.
•Serves as second chair at trials on behalf of or in support of the DCPD and/or District Defenders as assigned.

Program Planning & Implementation:
•Travels to work with all LOPD district offices and units, with the goal of spending 50% of their time in the field to provide consistent leadership presence, support the District Defender and office operations, and foster communication and collaboration.
•Assists with the establishment, implementation, and continuous improvement of the LOPD’s policies, procedures, programs and organizational structures for district offices and units.
•Establishes interim goals and objectives for assigned district offices and units.
•Keeps informed of current issues, best practices, and trends to ensure efficient and effective client representation and LOPD operations.
•Under the direction of the DCPD and in collaboration with District Defenders, determines future needs of assigned LOPD district offices and units and develops effective strategies for addressing identified needs.

Other Duties
•Performs other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Current license as an attorney issued by the New Mexico Supreme Court or eligible for a limited license issued by the New Mexico Supreme Court.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Ten (10) years of experience as a practicing attorney, of which six (6) years must be in a management/supervisory role.
Other Qualifications
Must possess and maintain a valid driver's License.

Employment eligibility to work with the Law Offices of the Public Defender (LOPD) in the U.S. is required. We are not able to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa.

Collective Bargaining: This position is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Default FLSA: Exempt (including Managers/Supervisors, Executive, Administrative, Professional Exempt Status): In accordance with DOL FLSA and LOPD NMAC and LOPD’s Compensation Agreement that is signed upon hire during onboarding, classifications identified as Exempt may be compensated for all authorized hours worked over 80 hours in a pay period. These classifications are eligible for compensatory time (paid time off accrued) at an even (1:1) rate if they request to work extra hours in advance and get approval from their supervisor. These classifications are not eligible for cash payments for extra hours worked. Compensatory time may be paid-out upon leaving the department depending on budget availability.

The Law Offices of the Public Defender is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis on race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, spousal affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, political affiliation or religion, mental or physical disability, or serious medical condition.

Preference may be given to multilingual applicants fluent in English and other languages.
Benefits

The State's General Services Department Risk Management Division, Employee Benefits Bureau (EBB), is responsible for the procurement and oversight of employee benefits - including Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Vision, Short & Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance. The State's Group Benefits Plan also offers COBRA, Flexible Spending Account Programs, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Erisa Administrative Services, Inc. (Erisa) is the State's Third Party Administrator. They provide benefits administration to all plan participants, and offer knowledgeable staff to answer your questions. To learn more about the benefits available please click here.

In addition to the benefits listed above, the Law Offices of The Public Defender offers a retirement plan and a medical program for retirees. For more information regarding the plan you can visit the following websites:
Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico Website

New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority
Total Compensation Package

As an employee of the Law Offices of the Public Defender (LOPD), you receive regular pay for your services. The other part of your total compensation is the value of the benefits LOPD makes available to you and, if applicable, your family. The Total Compensation Estimator is for illustrative purposes only and provides benefits-eligible employees an estimate of their total compensation based on selected options from the drop-downs in the estimator.• Please click here to download the Total Compensation Estimator on our website, Join Our Team section.
This estimator is not a legal document. All benefits are governed by the actual benefit plans, which have precedence over the information reported in this calculator. Rates are not guaranteed and may change annually based on legislative decisions. If you have any questions about this estimator, don't hesitate to get in touch with Human Resources at [email protected]

*State and Federal Laws - Rights of Employees*
Employers are required by state and federal law to post certain information concerning the rights of employees. The required posters are listed below and may be printed individually using a standard printer and paper.
• Human Rights Act Poster- PDF file
• New Mexico Job Health and Safety Protection (State OSHA)
• New Mexico Workers' Compensation Act and supply of Notice of Accident (NOA) Forms
• Human Trafficking - (English) (Español) (Navajo)
• Paid Sick Leave - (English) (Español) (Vietnamese) (Diné Navajo) - PDF
• The Whistleblower Protection Act
• Immigrant and Employee Rights Section Right to Work - (English/Español)

New Mexico state minimum wage is $12.00 per hour effective January 1, 2023. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. More information can be read at Minimum Wages Information.
• Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law - (English), (Español)
• Job Safety and Health Protection - (English), (Español)
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act - (English), (Español)
• Family Medical Leave Act - (English), (Español)
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - (English), (Espanol)
• Employee Rights under USERRA - (English), (Español)

Please contact [email protected] for questions.

Supplemental Questions

01

Which of the following do you possess:

• Current licensure as an attorney by the Supreme Court of New Mexico.

• Current license in good standing from another state and eligible to apply for public employee limited license pursuant to Rule 15-304 NMRA.

• None of the above

02

How many total years of experience as a practicing attorney do you have documented in the Work Experience section of your application?

PLEASE NOTE: If the years of experience that you indicate below cannot be found in the Work Experience section of this application, your application may not be eligible for further consideration. It is recommended that you attach documents that support your work experience at this time. If you are attempting to attach documents, but are unable to, you should email [email protected]. with the documents and your contact information. Or, if selected for an interview, you should bring the documents to your interview.

• 15+ years of experience

• 14 years of experience

• 13 years of experience

• 12 years of experience

• 11 years of experience

• 10 years of experience

• 9 years of experience

• 8 years of experience

• 7 years of experience

• 6 years of experience

• 5 years of experience

• 4 years of experience

• 3 years of experience

• 2 years of experience

• 1 year of experience

• Less than 1 year of experience

• None

03

Please provide licensure details below for all states in which you are licensed or have been licensed to practice law including license number, location issued, expiration date and status.

PLEASE NOTE: if this information is not provided, your application may not be recognized as being qualified for this position. It is recommended that you attach documents that support your licensure details (as requested above) at this time. If you are attempting to attach the documents to support the details of your licensure, but are unable to, you should email [email protected] with the attachments and your contact information. Or, if selected for an interview, you should bring the documents to your interview.

04

How many years of experience do you have developing and implementing organizational restructures?

• Thirty one or more years (31+)

• Twenty to thirty years (20-30)

• Fifteen to twenty years (15-20)

• Ten to fifteen years (10-15)

• Five to ten years (5-10)

• One to five years (1-5)

• Zero years (0)

05

How many years of experience do you have as a manager or supervisor of two (2) or more staff?

• Thirty one or more years (31+)

• Twenty to thirty years (20-30)

• Fifteen to twenty years (15-20)

• Ten to fifteen years (10-15)

• Five to ten years (5-10)

• One to five years (1-5)

• Zero years

06

What is the largest number of staff you have managed in a legal office?

• Thirty or more Full time positions (30+)

• Twenty five to twenty nine (25-29)

• Twenty to twenty four (20-24)

• Fifteen to nineteen (15-20)

• Ten to fourteen (10-14)

• Four to nine (4-9)

• Three or less (0-3)

07

Have you completed at least ten (10) felony-level jury trials, including one (1) serious violent offense?

• Yes

• No

08

If you answered yes to the previous question please provide how many felony-level jury trials have you completed in total?

09

Please briefly describe your approach to prioritizing tasks for yourself as well as your subordinates with limited resources.

10

Please briefly describe your approach to making decisions that may affect a substantial number of people.

11

Please briefly describe your commitment to public defense in New Mexico.

12

I understand that my responses to the questions regarding years of experience and education will be confirmed. I have included my related work experience in the Work Experience Section of my application with a detailed description of my related duties.

If I am attempting to attach documents, but unable to, I should email [email protected]., with the documents and my contact information. Or if selected for an interview, I may bring the documents to my interview.

• I Understand

13

For current State of New Mexico employees: I understand that the Law Offices of the Public Defender may only accept up to 40 hours of annual leave and all sick leave.

• I Understand

Required Question

Agency Information
EmployerLaw Offices Of The Public DefenderAddress
301 N. Guadalupe Street, Suite 200

Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501
Phone505.395.2824
Website
http://www.lopdnm.us/