The Youth Advocacy Division is committed to providing our clients with excellent appellate advocates who are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each client, understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs.  YAD strives to meet these goals by recruiting and maintaining a diverse and inclusive panel of private attorneys who represent a broad range of human difference and experience.

Qualifications:

Applicants must be a member in good standing of the Massachusetts bar and possess the following minimum qualifications:

  • Demonstrated proficiency in legal research and writing;
  • Demonstrated commitment to working on behalf of youth and emerging adults;
  • At least one of the following:
    • One year of trial experience with adult criminal defense, delinquency, youthful offender, juvenile murder, Children and Family Law, SORB, SDP or Mental Health litigation;
    • Primary authorship of one or more thoroughly researched and well written appellate briefs;
    • A recent judicial clerkship, substantial editing experience for a law journal, primary or ancillary authorship of a law journal article, or other substantial legal research and writing experience;
    • Other relevant life or legal experience that has provided the applicant with a unique or personal perspective on juvenile defense work.

Admission are based on qualifications and current availability of mentors, such that not all applicants who meet minimum qualifications will be admitted.

Required Training:

Admitted applicants must attend a Juvenile Appeals Certification Training.

Certification is based on successful completion of the training course. Attorneys who have successfully completed the course training requirements are provisionally certified and assigned a mentor. The Director of Juvenile Appeals may grant a waiver of the mentor requirement in some circumstances. During the period of the attorney’s provisional certification, the attorney must adhere to the YAD Appeals Performance Standards and work cooperatively with their mentor as required by the Juvenile Appeals Mentor Program. The mentor will periodically report to the Juvenile Appeals Unit about the attorney’s progress towards full Juvenile Appeals Panel certification.

Attorneys certified for juvenile appellate assignments may receive assignments in juvenile delinquency and youthful offender appeals, juvenile murder appeals, screenings for collateral motions (new trial, relief from unlawful restraint, revise and revoke), sentencing appeals and other post-adjudication matters.  An additional certification process is required to receive juvenile murder appeals.

Application Submission Instructions:

For more information on more training opportunities, or if you want to be considered, please email Afton Templin, Director of Juvenile Appeals, at [email protected].