Michigan’s State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) is expanding. Join us as an Assistant Appellate Defender working statewide to represent people as they appeal their felony convictions. We focus on our clients as people and actively work to challenge injustices and disparities in the criminal legal system based on race, class, ability, behavioral health, and other identifying characteristics and statuses. The position pays from $77,193 to $144,865, depending on experience and SADO’s pay schedule, and begins in October. Our office follows a hybrid workplace model that mixes in-office and remote work to offer flexibility and support to staff.
Assistant Appellate Defenders represent people on their direct appeals or for other post-conviction proceedings. Appeals involve challenges to convictions and sentences following trials and guilty pleas. Attorneys at SADO do many different things as part of an appeal, including:
• Travel to Michigan’s prisons and jails to consult with the people we represent
• Research legal issues and compose appellate and trial court briefs
• Oral argument in the trial and appellate courts, including the Michigan Supreme Court
• Interview witnesses, investigate and develop new evidence, and conduct evidentiary hearings in the trial courts, including direct and cross examination of witnesses
• Mitigate for resentencing hearings in the trial courts
• Negotiate with county prosecutors
• Communicate with our clients’ family, friends, and loved ones
• Collaborate with staff investigator and mitigation specialist to develop claims on appeal
Qualifications
Applicants must be current members of the Michigan Bar or eligible to waive into the bar. Applicants must have a commitment to indigent defense, public service, and racial equity. Skills in legal research and writing, client communication, and oral advocacy are required. A demonstrated ability to mentor and train new attorneys is preferred. This position is a hybrid environment between remote and in-office at either our Lansing or Detroit office.
To Apply
Submit a cover letter stating your interest in the position. Include your resume and a redacted writing sample.
Writing Sample Special Instructions: As part of its commitment to diversity in the workplace and its goal to prevent hiring bias, we ask that applicants submit redacted writing samples, which will be reviewed without access to applicant information and scored based on objective criteria. Your name, address, work affiliation, and other identifiers should be redacted from your writing sample. Files should be named generically, and your name should not be a part of the filename. For example, you can name the file WS1.pdf or WritingSample.pdf.
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