OPD Careers

Welcome to the Office of State Public Defender, where the most passionate and dedicated employees spend their days fighting for justice, their nights building families and communities, and their weekends taking advantage of everything Montana has to offer. OPD understands the demands of public defense, on us and our loved ones. We are committed to ensuring our employees can find a balance between their work and the rest of their lives, through competitive pay and benefits, a supportive work environment, and ethically reasonable workload limits. On this page you can learn more about OPD and our work, and how you can live, work, and thrive with us at OPD. We hope to hear from you soon.

Best,

Brett D. Schandelson

Director

Join Us

APPLY HERE

Questions?

Human Resources

DOAOPDHRPayroll@mt.gov

State government does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, creed, political beliefs or affiliation, veteran status, military service, retaliation, or any other factor not related to merit and qualifications of an employee or applicant.

Open Careers

Center of Defense Excellence Public Defender - Multiple Locations

Public Defender - CONFLICT - BOZEMAN

Human Resources Generalist 1 - Helena

Human Resources Generalist 2 - Helena

MANAGING PUBLIC DEFENDER - HELENA

Public Defender - Billings

Public Defender - Polson

PUBLIC DEFENDER - MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Training Coordinator - Multiple Locations

We hire 3L and Pre-bar graduates!

Benefits Of Working At OPD

Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Retirement Plan Highlights

Live Life Well - Wellness Program

Employee Assistance Program Overview

Montana Employee Discounts

Work From Home FAQ

“Working for OPD has brought a sense of closure to a legal career that started in 1978. I am able to be part of something from the beginning and contribute my knowledge and experience to an Agency that fights and believes in the legal rights of all of Montana’s citizens. The individuals that work for OPD share the same values, stand up for what they believe in, and make all of us proud. We excel in cooperation and are experts in diversity. We work hard to defend those that need a helping hand. We accept defeat and cherish the wins getting up the next day to do it all over again.”

Lynn MacMillan - Office Manager

”Conducting criminal defense investigations for the Montana Office of the State Public Defender is extremely rewarding. Consider for a moment the impact a professional criminal defense investigator can have on the Criminal Justice System and in the life of an innocent person wrongfully accused. It is an honor and privilege to defend the rights afforded to the accused by the United States Constitution.”

Timothy Boileau - Investigator

”I feel that ethically, it’s the place I could make the most positive difference.”

Jamie Hughes - Contracts Manager

"I enjoy what I do, the people I work with, and my relationship with my team. I am never bored and the job keeps me busy."

Steven St.John - IT Systems Administrator

“I can’t think of any other job that can fulfill all my career needs. I see firsthand everyday how our work impacts each individual client we walk with and fight for as well as their families and loved ones. But we also get to see the systemic importance of our work.”

Buddy Rutzke - Managing Public Defender

“I love the team I am part of, they care about the clients, the cause, and also the cause, and the community they work with.”

Jordan Sweeney - Legal Assistant

“I chose OPD because I have a strong interest in legal matters, enjoy the organization, managing details, and contributing to the forward progress of the justice system.”

Anita Kovarik - Legal Assistant

Apply Here

What is ECM?

And how does this effect me?

OPD’s Ethical Case Management (ECM) standard requires OPD to assign only an ethically reasonable volume of work to an individual public defender. This ensures the public defender is able to provide ethical, competent, and effective representation to each client and case assigned while providing our employees with sustainable, long-term confidence in their workloads. We know the demands of this work, and ECM helps our employees balance their work with the rest of their lives.

ECM is Enforced Public Defender Workload Limits

ECM is Better Client Representation

ECM is Higher Quality of Life

ECM is OPD

"ECM means our attorneys have enough time to give our clients the attention they deserve. With ECM, our clients spend less time waiting in jail for an attorney to look at their case, get quicker referrals to treatment programs, and receive meaningful representation and defense of their Constitutional rights. Because of ECM, our attorneys don't burn out and quit when the personal sacrifice of providing for their clients becomes too much to bear.”

Sterling Laudon - Managing Public Defender

"ECM has positively impacted the agency, especially for staff attorneys. It sets workload limits to encourage managers to keep their attorneys at a manageable case load. It's creating better employee retention and higher quality representation to our clients."

Natasha Fernando - Managing Public Defender

Learn More at VisitMT.com

“Working in Montana and having incredible outdoor access definitely helps me to maintain my mental health in this job so that I can be a public defender for the long run. Just being able to see the mountains, go hike or rock climb after work, ski, camp, and get out of reception with only a short hike or drive gives me the chance to decompress, refuel, and take my mind off my cases. It makes the job sustainable for me.”

Grace Brosofsky, Public Defender - Bozeman

Get Inspired

Public Defenseless Podcast

• Will a New Data Driven Approach Be the Key to the Future for Montana Public Defense w/ Brett Schandelson

• From a 25% Vacancy Rate to Nearly Zero, How the Montana Public Defender System Came Back From The Brink