Solutions

oUR MISSION

Empowering and supporting people in need while building access to justice

Our mission is to transform public defense — at scale. We do this by practicing collaborative defense, a method to help public defenders be more client-led and secure better outcomes.

What is Collaborative Defense?

Collaborative Defense is a framework for client-led representation that confronts the underlying causes and prevents many of the most dire consequences of criminal legal involvement.

1

Have Vision: An office has a clear vision for holistic, collaborative representation that is communicated internally and externally.

2

Ask the Right Questions: An office has a clear vision for holistic, collaborative representation that is communicated internally and externally.

3

Empower the Client: Clients are treated professional and with respect and their representation works in service of their expressed goals and priorities.

4

Connect with Social Services: Clients are systematically assisted in accessing community-based social services.

5

Access Legal Expertise: Clients have access to civil, family, and immigration legal expertise to address concerns caused by criminal legal system involvement.

6

Change the Narrative: The office systematically creates and documents persuasive mitigation, drawing on both the client’s personal history and the office’s Collaborative Defense work.

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OUR VALUES

What we believe

Client-centered practice: We provide safe spaces for our clients to tell their stories so that we can understand how to help them navigate obstacles and empower their transition into the lives they envision.

Continuous learning: We actively listen to and learn from our clients, our colleagues, and the community, embracing new and creative ways of working.

Equity and inclusivity: Our strategic goals, organizational decision-making, and client services are informed by continued conversations with members of the PFJ community about our diverse lived experiences. In particular, we strive to center people impacted by the criminal legal system at all levels of the organization.

Self-care: We practice empathy, patience, and kindness toward everyone we interact with, including ourselves, so that we can continue working with energy and positivity.

Tenacity: Confronting the widespread oppression that our clients face requires hard work – we are diligent, thorough, and persistent.

Transformation: We believe that the current system of prisons and policing is oppressive and should be dismantled. We acknowledge the tensions of meanwhile working within that system to reduce the harm to our clients. We also seek to subvert that system by shining a light on our clients’ humanity at every opportunity. We lift up visions of the future where the prison-industrial complex is obsolete and there is no further need for our roles.

Solutions

Empowering and supporting people in need while building access to justice

Advocates

Capacity Building

Training