Training Director

Position Description

The State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) is hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney with extensive training experience to serve as Training Director for a staff of over 100 people, including supervisors, attorneys, mitigation and reentry specialists, investigators, paralegals, clerks, case coordinators, roster administrators, and other staff. Under the supervision of the Director and as a member of the leadership team, the Training Director will be responsible for ensuring that every staff member is thoroughly onboarded, comprehensively trained at regular intervals, and delivers the highest quality client representation and services.

The role also assists the private counsel division with onboarding and ongoing training for roster attorneys, works with the Criminal Defense Resource Center to streamline in‑house educational resources, coordinates the office’s internship programs, manages social media and recruitment efforts, oversees the internal training budget, and processes staff training requests. The Training Director may supervise future members of the training team.

The position pays from $124,319 to $170,631 depending on experience and is located in our Detroit or Lansing office. The office follows a hybrid workplace model that mixes in‑office and remote work to offer flexibility and support to staff.

• Develop and implement onboarding and client‑centered training curriculum and programming for staff
• Develop continued training curriculum for staff and roster attorneys and create resources, guides, and training materials
• Implement a regular training plan for all new lawyers and staff on a variety of topics covering substantive legal issues and best practices by position, procedure, skills, technology, communication, and other job‑related aspects
• Handle all logistics for training events, including selecting speakers, scheduling, venue set‑up, registration, and materials
• Respond to staff requests for internal and external training and manage a training budget
• Create and implement office‑wide policies and procedures on continuing legal education
• Manage and coordinate office‑wide internship programs and recruitment events
• Catalog and organize training material for staff in conjunction with the Criminal Defense Resource Center
• Manage SADO’s social media in partnership with other team members
• Handle a limited caseload when appropriate

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
• 401(k) plan with up to 9% employer contribution (partial vesting begins at 2 years)
• 13 paid holidays
• Paid sick time and paid parental leave
• Long‑term disability insurance
• Flexible work hours
• Hybrid work environment
• Casual dress as appropriate
• Paid training opportunities
• Annual pay increases up to the maximum of the pay range with satisfactory performance

• Mid‑Senior level

• Full‑time

• Human Resources

• Non‑profit Organizations