Great Place to Work - Deputy Public Defender Kern County Public Defender Employee Review

Management treats the individuals like professionals and lets them have the discretion to handle their work as they see fit. While the workload is often high, there is respect for people who need to request a lighter load. The team is very supportive of one another, and we advance through the pay scales fairly quickly.

Because of low turnover (which is a good thing), some people have felt stagnant in advancement through the assignments. They still advance in pay, and opportunities are still available for professional development. Also, Kern has been late to adopt the more modern model of greater support staff, like social workers, paralegals, etc.

Practice criminal defense with peer and supervisory support, but freedom to make creative decisions for your clients. Lots of opportunity to take out jury trials. Peers were amazing and supportive in all ways. Pay was great for the location.

I had no issues with the office here.