AG 2007 01 22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Action: The agency attorney manager must ensure that the agency is receiving high quality representation both inside and outside the courtroom. No matter what model of representation, agency attorneys should be sure agency staff is fully informed about legal matters and fully prepared for court and policy decisions. The agency attorney manager should, therefore, develop protocols concerning such issues as: • communication, such as regular office hours at the agency and timely responses by attorneys to agency telephone calls and emails; • information sharing; • conflict resolution; • attorney-client work product and confidentiality issues; and • dealing with media and high profile cases. The agency attorney manager should be sure there is a system in place for reviewing all court orders and communicating the results with the agency. The agency attorney manager should work with the agency to develop an overall strategy for appeals. It should identify the list of issues that will be most important and appropriate to appeal. It should include an internal system for bringing potential appeals to the agency attorneys and agency attorney manager's attention. The agency attorney manager should then be ready to pursue the strategy when appropriate cases arise. The agency attorney manager should help prepare all federal reviews and implement any program improvement plans that result. The agency attorney manager should ensure there is a process for agency legal training. As part of the process, the agency attorney manager could design materials, with samples, to help caseworkers prepare for court and provide testimony. Agency training could occur during formal, new hire training, at brown bag lunches or during after-hours courses. Topics could include, for example: • overviews of state and federal laws; • writing appropriate court reports and case plans; • testifying in court; • the trial and appellate court processes; and • the need for and steps to complete acceptable searches for absent parents. Commentary: Regardless of whether the agency attorney represents the agency or the state, the caseworkers often have the information needed to put together a strong case. Therefore, the attorneys and caseworkers must meet and communicate regularly. This could involve having office hours when the caseworkers can visit and ask questions or designating an attorney to take caseworkers' telephone calls. Similarly, the better the caseworkers and agency staff understand the law and legal process, the easier it is for them and the agency 24 ,_ .l