Associate Attorney, Rocky Mountain Regional

Earthjustice seeks an Associate Attorney to join our Rocky Mountain Regional Office to advocate for clean energy, environmental justice, and healthy lands and waters in the Rocky Mountain west. The Associate Attorney position is a three-year position with the opportunity for a three-year extension as a Senior Associate Attorney. The position requires 1-5 years post-law-school legal experience.

Earthjustice is the nation’s largest, oldest, and most active public interest environmental law organization. Our team of over 550 staff — including over 190 litigators — wields the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect public health, address environmental injustice, defend magnificent places and irreplaceable ecosystems, transition our economy to 100% clean energy, and combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups, tribes, individuals, and communities to address the environmental crises of our time. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.

Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office was established in 1972 as the second of the now 15 Earthjustice offices. Based in Denver, the Rocky Mountain Office focuses on issues in the Intermountain West and Southwest. The Rocky Mountain Office is working to promptly and equitably transition states from a reliance on dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. The Rocky Mountain Office fights for the right to a healthy environment and to defend disproportionately impacted and tribal communities from pollution and other environmental harms. And the Rocky Mountain Office fights to protect our region’s treasured public lands and wildlife from fracking, mining, and other threats. Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Office and its work at https://earthjustice.org/about/offices/rocky-mountain.

The Associate Attorney position is a three-year position with the possibility of an additional three years as a Senior Associate Attorney. Earthjustice’s Associate Attorney program is designed to help attorneys who are in the early stages of their careers develop into thoughtful, professional, and effective advocates skilled in the various phases of public interest litigation and administrative advocacy. The level of duties and responsibilities for an Associate Attorney will vary depending on experience. Many Associates have gone on to other positions within Earthjustice and with other public interest organizations.

Earthjustice understands that attracting, developing, and retaining attorneys whose backgrounds represent our nation’s rich diversity makes us more effective and is integral to our values of excellence, partnership, justice, and inclusion. We desire to attract a diverse group of candidates to learn more about the Rocky Mountain office and apply for our associate attorney positions.

The Rocky Mountain office is located in the heart of downtown Denver near the federal and state courthouses, public transportation, and the vibrant LoDo, RiNo and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. We are a bike-friendly office, located near many of Denver’s bike paths. The office employs a hybrid approach where staff are in the office a minimum of one day per week and as necessary depending on case and office needs and may otherwise choose whether to work remotely or in the office. The position will start in September 2024 or January 2025, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Responsibilities:

Associate attorneys perform a range of work, in partnership with senior attorneys and professional staff, to investigate, develop, and pursue advocacy before administrative agencies and litigation in court.

As associate attorneys gain experience, their dockets may include cases for which they have primary responsibility under the supervision of a senior attorney in addition to matters on which they work in a supporting role with senior attorneys. Specific responsibilities include:

• Working closely with Earthjustice attorneys, scientists, professional staff, and clients to build cases and support policies that serve a diverse set of clients.
• Participating in the full range of tasks involved in administrative advocacy and litigation, including factual investigation, legal research and analysis, memo writing, negotiation, discovery, briefing, and oral advocacy.
• Interact with clients and work with experts to develop a clear understanding of the facts involved in each case.
• Participating in cultivating relationships with new clients, allies, and coalition partners.
• Integrating communications and legislative advocacy into litigation and other legal strategies.
• Supporting efforts to ensure a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture that encourages and celebrates differences.
• Representing Earthjustice at remote and in-person meetings with clients, partners, co-counsel, and experts.
• Developing skills required to serve as a spokesperson to media.
• Participating in hiring and supervision of student law clerks and externs.

Required Qualifications:

• Law school graduate with 1-5 years of legal experience and admitted to, or willing and eligible to apply for admission (including taking the bar exam, if necessary) to, the Colorado State Bar.
• Excellent research, analytic, writing, and communication skills.
• Strong and demonstrated work ethic, good judgment, initiative, and creativity.
• Strong desire to fight for the right of all to a healthy environment.
• Ability to work well independently and in a team-oriented atmosphere.
• Commitment to serving the public interest and a passion for the role of Earthjustice and its mission.
• Demonstrated awareness and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
• Ability and desire to contribute to the creation of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture that encourages and celebrates differences.
• High level of emotional intelligence.

We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits that are comprehensive and competitive. We also offer a congenial, flexible, hybrid work environment and a casual dress code. As a 501(c)(3) organization, Earthjustice is a qualifying employer for purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Salary depends on years' experience and location.
Salary range in Denver, CO for 1-5 years: $100,800 - $118,700.

To Apply:

Interested applicants should submit the following via Jobvite by August 4:

• Resume.
• Cover letter that addresses: 1) your interest in, and qualifications for, serving as an associate attorney; 2) why you are drawn to Earthjustice’s mission and whether there are particular legal, environmental, or social justice issues that inspire you; and 3) aspects of your background that demonstrate competence to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in work with clients and colleagues. Also, please include the earliest date you would be available to begin work.
• Writing sample, preferably a legal brief or memorandum containing legal analysis. Please ensure that any confidential information is redacted and that you have permission to share any non-public memorandum written for another legal employer or client. We recognize that many legal work products are edited by multiple attorneys; at the same time, we expect that any writing sample be predominantly, if not exclusively, your own work. Please include a cover sheet explaining the extent of any editing by someone else, and any other details about the writing sample that you believe Earthjustice will find helpful.
• Law school transcript.

Applications from candidates graduating from law school in 2024 will not be considered.

For this position, we are looking to hire a candidate who is available to start in September 2024 or January 2025. Preference will be given to candidates who apply by August 4, 2024. After that, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Please reach out to jobs@earthjustice.org if you are having technical difficulties submitting your application. No phone calls, drop-ins, or hard copies.

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