Client Services Specialists - Missouri (Multiple Locations)

Job Summary

Partners for Justice is seeking Client Services Specialists to support our partners at the Missouri State Public Defender (MSPD). These specialists will assist public defender clients who cannot afford an attorney throughout their legal process. Their key responsibilities include identifying client priorities, connecting clients to community resources and critically, developing robust mitigation strategies to advocate for holistic outcomes. Specialists will work statewide, operating from district offices strategically located across Missouri. This offers diverse work environments, ranging from urban centers like Kansas City and St. Louis to more rural settings. By connecting clients to community resources and leveraging mitigation to advocate for holistic outcomes, Client Services Specialists play a critical role in reducing pretrial detention and unnecessary prison sentences, ultimately creating lasting change in the criminal legal system.

As a Client Services Specialist, you will serve clients in an assigned region, building relationships with community providers and overcoming barriers clients face in accessing services and the stigma of criminal legal involvement. Your key responsibilities include:

Mitigation and Investigation:

• Producing mitigation memoranda for use in clients’ cases.
• Conducting psychosocial history interviews with clients.
• Occasionally, testifying or providing in-court advocacy.
• Requesting and reviewing various records.
• Conducting literature reviews and social science research as part of mitigation work.
• Identifying and interviewing mitigation witnesses.

Collaboration and Communication:

• Developing mitigation themes and evidence in collaboration with attorneys and other members of the defense team.
• Drafting formal and informal mitigation memoranda for attorney utilization.
• Engaging with community organizations to increase access to services for clients.
• Providing support and guidance to MSPD staff in the assigned region.
• Supporting MSPD interns, including training new staff members.

Data Collection:

• Helping collect and analyze data tracking holistic defense work and its impact.
• Tracking outcomes of mitigation on outcomes of criminal legal system impact.
• Identifying best practices in mitigation utilization.

Required Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in psychology, social work, sociology, or a closely related field; Masters in Social Work preferred. Relevant experience may substitute.
• Ability to work effectively with clients to identify and achieve service goals.
• Ability to provide a variety of case management services, including connections to mental health or substance use disorder treatment, housing, and employment.
• Ability to assist clients with finding transportation for case-related needs.
• Strong research skills, including the ability to request and review records.
• Skill in drafting formal and informal mitigation memoranda.

Desired Skills:

• Experience conducting psychological history interviews with clients.
• Demonstrated ability to develop mitigation memoranda for use in legal cases.
• Prior experience testifying or providing in-court advocacy.
• Prior experience identifying and interviewing mitigation witnesses.
• Ability to supervise interns.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy & Fair Chance Hiring:

PFJ provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. Furthermore, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the fair chance ordinances of the jurisdictions we work within, including but not limited to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act.

Ready to join the movement?

Please send your cover letter, resume, and contact information (name, email, contact number, and email) for two references to hiring@partnersforjustice.org with "Client Services Specialists" in the subject line.