With clients’ liberty at stake every day, public defenders need legal information, skills development, and access to resources from the moment they interact with clients or enter the courtroom.  The Office of the Public Defender is committed to providing all staff with the tools needed to ensure client-centered, zealous representation.

To prepare lawyers and other staff for the tremendous responsibility of representing an individual accused of a crime, the challenges of a public defender caseload, and the significance and value of serving in this important role, OPD established a specialized training division and became the first state to adopt the nationally lauded Gideon's Promise curriculum. Led by experienced criminal defense practitioners, the training division provides the Gideon’s Promise training to new attorneys twice per year, coordinates OPD's Annual Conference, develops and oversees all other public defender and core staff training curricula, and manages OPD's Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program.