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Working at NHPDThe New Hampshire Public Defender provides representation to the vast majority of people facing criminal and delinquency prosecution in New Hampshire. We are a private, nonprofit corporation dedicated to ensuring that New Hampshire fulfills the constitutional mandate of equal justice for all citizens by providing high-quality representation for indigent defendants. The program’s attorneys and investigators staff nine offices located across the state. We also provide appellate representation to clients through the Appellate Defender program.
Because our mission is to provide the best representation we can, we strive to maintain a work environment that encourages attorneys to work creatively and zealously on behalf of clients. We accomplish this in many ways, including: TrainingWe provide extensive instruction before new attorneys take their first case, (including a five-week New Public Defender Training program conducted by senior attorneys each September), and we provide ongoing training throughout the year for new and experienced attorneys. ResourcesOur investigators, legal secretaries, information systems, legal research tools, Litigation Support Group, court handbooks, resource directories, appellate attorneys, and attorney mentors are all available to support new public defenders in representing clients. Workload ControlsWhile we do our utmost to avoid having to do so, we can stem the intake of cases to prevent caseloads from getting so high for attorneys that the work becomes unmanageable. Mutual SupportWe work to maintain a culture of collaboration, supervision, co-counseling of cases, and case reviews and we encourage and support the contributions of all staff to client assistance and the development of case strategies. Political IndependenceWe are a private, nonprofit corporation overseen by an independent Board of Directors. Attorneys are expected to act on behalf of their clients’ interests within the bounds of their ethical obligations, without being influenced by political considerations. RecruitingWe strive to find and hire recent law school graduates who are highly skilled, compassionate, creative, and dedicated to working in the public interest. Vertical Representation and VarietyOur individual public defenders provide “vertical” representation to clients from initial appointment through final disposition of cases. Our practice includes representing clients in misdemeanor and juvenile delinquency cases in the local District Courts; representing clients in misdemeanor, felony, homicide and capital cases in the Superior Courts; and conducting appellate advocacy in the New Hampshire Supreme Court. All attorneys in the Public Defender Program carry caseloads made up of a wide variety of delinquency and criminal cases.
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