The Office of the State Public Defender seeks to ensure that all indigent persons in Iowa are provided high quality legal representation in criminal, juvenile, and other eligible proceedings in the most efficient and fiscally responsible manner. To further this mission, the State Public Defender organizes various training opportunities for public defenders and other court-appointed attorneys.
Attorneys new to indigent defense are strongly encouraged, and in certain instances are required, to attend the one-day New Contract Attorney Trainings for criminal and juvenile law prior to or immediately after contracting with the State Public Defender. These trainings provide practical, specific advice to help you get started in representing clients in criminal or juvenile court and also introduce attorneys to the indigent defense claims process. Each one-day new contract attorney training is held twice each year shortly after the spring and fall bar admission ceremonies.
| IN-PERSON TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES | |
|---|---|
| New Attorney Criminal Training | April 21, 2025 |
| New Attorney Juvenile Training | April 22, 2025 |
REGISTRATION LINKS:
PCR Training
Criminal Skills Training
Appellate Training
New Attorney Criminal Training
New Attorney Juvenile Training
SPD Live Training Webinars
The State Public Defender will be hosting an ongoing series of Live Webinar CLEs over the lunch hour from Noon to 1:00 p.m. These CLEs, which are open only to indigent defense contract attorneys and public defenders can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and will feature a variety of basic and advanced topics relevant to indigent defense practice. You must register in advance to attend by clicking the link below for each webinar. If you have suggestions for future topics or presenters, or are interested in presenting yourself, please contact the SPD Training Coordinator.
Training Webinar
| Upcoming Training Webinar | ||
|---|---|---|
| CJPS Presents: Secondary Trauma and Resiliency | February 20, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM (CST) |
| SPD Presents: Legal Research with AI Using Westlaw Precision | February 26, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM (CST) |
SPD On-Demand Webinars
The SPD now offers On-Demand webinars featuring our Live Webcasts. There is no charge to attend an on-demand webinar. Note that there may be short technical difficulties that were taped during the original broadcasts.
Additional juvenile training opportunities are compiled by the Iowa Children's Justice Initiative.
SPD Training Coordinator
For more information about training opportunities or to notify our office about opportunities that may be of interest to the indigent defense community in Iowa, you may contact the training coordinator for the Office of the State Public Defender: