With more than 200 attorneys and professional staff, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office is one of the largest law offices in Seattle and is the third-largest public law office in the state. Our office is committed to making Seattle a safe, healthy, empowered, and thriving community for everyone. We strive to address historical injustices within the court system with self-examination and to pursue justice in Seattle with integrity, creativity, and fairness. We believe working transparently, innovatively, and in collaboration with our partners in the community is necessary to achieve outcomes that promote equity, accountability, and healing.

The Criminal Division is seeking a prosecutor to serve as an attorney on the LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital Programs Team within the Specialty Court Unit. This position will support the Lead Prosecutor and is integral to the Team, which seeks to reduce an individual’s impact on our community by working closely with community partners to address the underlying causes of the individual’s criminal behavior. Supervised by both the Specialty Court Unit Supervisor and under direction from the Team’s Lead prosecutor, this position collaborates with other units within the Criminal Division and with community partners to coordinate legal involvement for enrolled program clients.

About the programs:
LEAD (Let Everyone Advance with Dignity/Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) aims to improve public health, public safety, and racial equity by providing long-term, trauma-informed, community-based case management to individuals with complex needs who face persistent challenges in connecting to community-based services and resources. Law enforcement is able to refer to LEAD in lieu of booking into jail for certain crimes. LEAD link

CoLEAD is an adaptation of the LEAD program that was created at the beginning of the COVID- 19 pandemic. “Co” stands for both COVID and Co-Responder. CoLEAD utilizes a hotel-based model of care providing intensive case management and residential on-site support to individuals with complex behavioral health needs who commonly commit law violations or exhibit problematic behavior related to unmet behavioral health conditions. CoLEAD link

Familiar Faces Vital provides comprehensive and integrated services to adults who are experiencing behavioral health challenges, need an intensive level of community-based support, and may be experiencing homelessness. “Familiar Faces” refers to a population defined as individuals who are frequent utilizers of a King County jail and who also have a mental health and/or substance use condition. The Vital Program - King County

Role of the Support Prosecutor for LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital
This position will support the Lead Prosecutor in mitigating outcomes in the criminal justice system for individuals engaged in services with LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital.  This includes collaborating with SCAO colleagues on filing decisions for enrolled program clients; negotiating cases and attending court hearings for engaged program clients; and maintaining open communication with LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital teams, including external partners. This position will support the Team Lead prosecutor as they make and implement policy decisions.

 

Job Responsibilities

 

• Reviewing Seattle Police Department reports
• Collaborating with SCAO colleagues to make filing decisions for enrolled program clients
• Filing criminal cases for enrolled program clients
• Generate and File documents in the Seattle Municipal Court portal
• Negotiating criminal cases for enrolled program clients (this will include analyzing mitigating circumstances and working with community partners on creative resolutions)
• Attending court hearings for enrolled program clients and/or coordinating with internal colleagues
• Assisting with organizing and presenting trainings both internally and to community partners
• Collaborating both internally and externally with community partners to coordinate Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) legal involvement for enrolled program clients
• Collaborating both internally and externally with community partners as a program liaison
• Assisting community partners with questions related to enrolled program clients’ SMC legal involvement and issues with the criminal legal system
• Monitor and maintain all LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital program databases
• Manage LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital Team email (high volume)
• Manage LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital Team spreadsheet(s)
• Monitor daily in-custody calendar for enrolled program clients
• Review dockets of pending cases in various jurisdictions
• Analyze complex datasets using tools (such as Excel), and make appropriate recommendations for presentation
• Gather, interpret, and compile data from enrolled program client files, police reports, agencies, and courts
• Utilize various databases such as NCIC, FORS, JABS, DOL, JBRS, and other court databases
• Assist and participate in program meetings, policy/protocol decisions, and community engagement events
• Other duties as assigned

This position requires membership in good standing with the Washington State Bar Association OR the ability to complete the process of obtaining membership within 30 days of an offer of employment.

• One year of general prosecution experience within the SCAO Criminal Division OR the equivalent in another jurisdiction.
• A demonstrated commitment to racial and social justice.
• Experience in specialty courts or alternatives to traditional prosecution at SCAO OR equivalent experience in another jurisdiction.
• This position will initially be working on the LEAD | CoLEAD | Familiar Faces Vital Team, but it is subject to rotation to other units within the Criminal Division, depending on the business needs of the office. Applicants should therefore have an interest in all aspects of criminal prosecution.

Additionally, a successful candidate will have the knowledge and skills to effectively manage a large and diverse caseload, including:

• Knowledge, experience, and/or formal training in diversion practices
• Experience analyzing legal and evidentiary issues
• Experience working with the community and community partners in an official capacity
• Extensive Race and Social Justice training, including a desire to continue to attend and strengthen those skills
• Meticulous record keeping and data management skills
• Legal writing skills
• Commitment to prosecutorial diversion programs and alternatives to traditional prosecution
• Flexibility to manage nuance and projects changing unexpectedly
• Strong communication skills and an ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds
• Ability to work independently and as a team player under pressure in stressful situations
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook

About Seattle City Attorney's Office

With more than 200 attorneys and professional staff, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office is one of the largest law offices in Seattle and is the third largest public law office in the state. Our office is committed to making Seattle a safe, healthy, empowered and thriving community for everyone. We strive to address historical injustices within the court system with self-examination and to pursue justice in Seattle with integrity, creativity, and fairness. We believe working transparently, innovatively, and in collaboration with our partners in the community is necessary to achieve outcomes that promote equity, accountability, and healing.

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