The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio seeks an exceptional attorney-leader to serve as Chief of its Capital Habeas Unit in Cleveland, Ohio. This is a rare opportunity to lead a highly respected capital practice at the intersection of complex litigation, institutional leadership, and public service. The next Chief will help shape the direction of one of the nation’s leading capital habeas organizations while guiding a deeply committed interdisciplinary team through the legal, strategic, and human demands of life-and-death representation.
Why This Role
This position offers more than meaningful work. It offers the chance to lead in the most demanding area of public defense, to mentor excellent lawyers and professional staff, to help shape office-wide strategy, and to strengthen the integration of capital and trial defense practice across the organization.
The work is intellectually rigorous and professionally significant. It requires a leader who can navigate AEDPA, evolving and often restrictive Supreme Court doctrine, extensive factual records, expert and mitigation development, and the extraordinary weight that comes with representing people facing the finality of a death sentence.
About the Office
Established in 1973, the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio serves our clients through branches in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, and Toledo. We currently have approximately 51 multidisciplinary employees across both our Trial Unit and Capital Habeas Unit.
We are committed to preserving, protecting, and defending equal justice for all through zealous, independent representation under the Criminal Justice Act. We are united by a commitment to equal justice. Guided by integrity, we serve our clients and one another with honesty, respect, and compassion. Through open communication, accountability, and professionalism, we build trust while fostering a culture that is humble, inclusive, supportive, and grounded in humanity. Together, we approach our work with diligence and resilience, while maintaining an appropriate sense of humor in what can be grueling and difficult work. We believe that the best advocates are those whose excellence is matched by their character in service of equal justice for all.
The Cleveland-based Capital Habeas Unit, opened in 2008 with three staff members, is a growing team of 15 Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Research and Writing Specialist Attorneys, Mitigation Specialists, Investigators, and Paralegals. Our CHU is just one part of a much larger, supportive, interdisciplinary community of 22 Capital Habeas Units across the country. The selected candidate will be expected to work within that larger community to ensure our clients receive the very best representation available.
Leadership Opportunity
The Capital Habeas Unit Chief leads all Unit operations, strategic initiatives, and litigation functions while contemporaneously serving as a senior leader and personal advisor to the Federal Public Defender. The Chief must combine outstanding legal judgment with strong leadership abilities, build cohesion within the Unit and strengthen collaboration with the Trial Unit so that the office operates with greater unity, shared purpose, and institutional trust.
This role offers substantial leadership scope. The Chief will help shape Unit culture, develop and mentor attorneys and staff, guide litigation strategy in the office’s most consequential cases, and work closely with the Federal Public Defender on organizational priorities, standards of excellence, and long-term institutional strength.
Core Responsibilities
The selected candidate will:
Lead and oversee all Capital Habeas Unit operations and strategic initiatives.
Supervise, mentor, and evaluate attorneys and professional staff.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, high-performing workplace culture and maintain an ethical, professional, and respectful work environment.
Manage staffing and…