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Michael A. DiLauro, Director
The Director of Training and Legislation serves many roles in the
Office of the Public Defender. As Director of Legislation, he is
the principal architect of Public Defender legislative initiatives
and the “point” person shepherding agency initiatives
through the General Assembly and coordinating the many appearances
that Public Defender staff make before legislative committees. Along
with the Public Defender, he is a frequent spokesperson for the
Office in carrying out what the Public Defender believes is a responsibility
to the general population of the State of Rhode Island to try to
improve the criminal justice process through legislative means.
As Director of Training, he supervises all staff training and
works closely with supervisory staff to ensure that training is
available for all job categories.
Continuing education is a priority of the Public Defender Office,
as the obligation to deliver high-quality and effective representation
to clients carries with it the responsibility to improve and maintain
skills and to be aware of the evolving changes in substantive law
that govern representation. In addition, the Office believes that
all employees should be aware, at least in a basic and general way,
of the job functions that employees in other job categories have.
The obligation to carry through with continuing education has
implications on several fronts. Staff will be obligated to attend
certain on-site continuing education and to make every effort to
do so if there are conflicting obligations; the Office will bear
the financial burden of certain staff education, both on-site and
off-site; the Office will permit staff to attend certain continuing
legal education sessions on work time, both on-site and off-site,
even if the Office does not bear the expense.
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