Massachusetts Recruiting New York Lawyers to Join State’s Assigned Counsel Panels
7.21.2026
The Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services is actively recruiting lawyers in states that border the Commonwealth, like New York, to consider joining its assigned counsel panels.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services provides legal representation in Massachusetts for those unable to afford an attorney when the law requires it. This includes criminal, delinquency, youthful offender, child welfare, mental health, sexually dangerous person and sex offender registry cases, as well as related appeals and post-conviction matters.
Attorneys not admitted to the Massachusetts Bar are allowed to work for a non-profit legal services or public defense organization for up to two years under Rule 3.04 of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules. Kara Humm, the private attorney outreach coordinator for the committee, hopes the rule, plus a recent pay increase approved by the Massachusetts state legislature will provide an incentive for attorneys to pick up cases in the Commonwealth.
“We have a shortage of private panel attorneys in several regions of the state including the Western Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Holyoke. Hampden County, which encompasses Springfield needs 25 additional attorneys to keep up with the panel caseload,” she said.
Humm is also in search of attorneys who have experience in appellate work. Case preparation can be completed remotely with one day in court in Boston.
“If we can add 10 to 15 attorneys with appellate experience in mental health litigation and children and family law, who can come to Boston for their hearings only, it would change the trajectory of how we do business,” she said.
The committee recently commissioned a study by LinkedIn and found that 150 attorneys identified themselves as admitted in Massachusetts and New York.
“We know that number is not the full picture of attorneys with dual admittance, but it reinforces the idea that there are attorneys who work in both states and it creates an opportunity for them to expand their practice by taking part in CPCS panel work,” Humm said.
