Capital Habeas Mitigation Specialist

Deadline: TBD; position subject to available funding

More than one position may be filled from this posting

Make a Meaningful Difference in the Heart of Missouri

Join the Fight for Justice

Are you a dedicated professional with a passion for defending the Constitution and ensuring justice for all? The Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of Missouri is seeking a zealous and committed full‑time Mitigation Specialist to join our Capital Habeas Unit in the Kansas City Office, with the possibility to telework fulltime.

This position offers a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact by ensuring that high‑quality legal representation is provided for clients who have been sentenced to death in state court. We represent death‑sentenced clients in the final stages of litigation, including petitions for habeas corpus relief in federal court and requests for clemency. As part of our team, you will play a critical role in investigating, developing, and presenting mitigation evidence in post‑conviction proceedings for clients facing the most serious penalty.

We represent clients on death row in the final stages of litigation, including requests for clemency. We enjoy unconditional commitment to a client‑focused approach. We strive to show our clients respect, compassion, and dignity. We are sometimes a client’s primary contact with the outside world, and we are sometimes part of a larger support system. Our clients often suffer from mental health conditions that challenge them, and us.

We embrace those challenges. Each client is represented by a team comprised of at least two attorneys, at least one investigator, and at least one paralegal. We work closely with each other and foster a team approach which requires mutual respect for every member of the team, regardless of their role. All teams are supported by a well‑established internal office wellness initiative.

Kansas City sits on Missouri’s western edge, straddling the border with Kansas. It's known for its barbecue, jazz heritage, and fountains. Downtown, the American Jazz Museum shares a building with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District. The Nelson‑Atkins Museum of Art, with giant shuttlecocks out front, houses nearly 40,000 works of art, from ancient to contemporary collections.

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree, ideally in social work, psychology, criminology, or a related field (Master’s strongly preferred).
• Understanding of office confidentiality issues, such as attorney client privilege.
• Working knowledge of the criminal justice and correctional systems, mental health, and social services.
• Experience conducting exhaustive investigations.
• Strong interviewing, research, and writing skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Commitment to the mission of indigent defense and capital representation.
• Willingness to travel and work flexible hours as needed.

The duties of a Capital Mitigation Specialist include developing and analyzing mitigation evidence to assist attorneys in client‑focused representation. This position requires frequent travel and often involves evening and weekend work, when witnesses are available for interviews. In furtherance of these duties the Mitigation Specialist will:

• Interview clients and relevant people in a culturally competent manner.
• Locate and conduct in‑person witness interviews to discover information, and to develop all mitigating circumstances in the client’s life; obtain necessary releases from both clients and relevant actors in order to secure relevant records.
• Gather, investigate, validate, and report to attorney all aspects of client’s life and a multigenerational family history obtained from various sources including vital records, social services records, educational records, employment and personnel records, military records, medical/health records, arrest records, institutional records, community records, and interviews with persons relevant to the client.
• Prepare written Social History reports based on information gathered over the course of the…