Public Interest Law Expert

Obsidian; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Obsidian is seeking senior public interest law professionals to build evaluation tasks for AI systems operating in civil rights, environmental, and public advocacy contexts. The work spans US federal civil rights statutes, NEPA, and environmental statutes, with an international track on human rights law and EU directives.

Contributors design scenarios, draft reference outputs, and create rubrics that capture how senior public interest attorneys think, ensuring authentic judgments beyond routine

Qualifications

• 5+ years as a public interest attorney at legal aid, nonprofit, or government agency.
• Direct ownership of impact litigation, regulatory advocacy, or policy reform initiatives.
• Understanding of regulatory processes and legislative advocacy work.
• JD with bar admission or international equivalent; rubric/training or policy authorship is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Construct scenarios spanning civil rights litigation, environmental compliance and enforcement, and community advocacy or policy reform processes.
• Build tasks across civil rights and constitutional law, environmental law and regulation, housing and consumer protection, immigration and asylum, and government accountability.
• Develop scenarios involving tools such as legal research platforms, case management systems used by legal aid organizations and nonprofits, and regulatory filing systems (e.g., EPA dockets).
• Apply public interest law methodologies to standards tracks and produce reference briefs, regulatory comments, and advocacy memoranda.
• Author rubrics that distinguish authentic public interest legal judgment from generic law school or bar exam-level recall.

Skills

Public interest tooling

Regulatory advocacy understanding

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Role Overview

• Mercor is seeking senior public interest law professionals to build evaluation tasks for AI systems operating in civil rights, environmental, and public advocacy contexts.


• The workflows are calibrated to the societal stakes, regulatory scope, and community impact of major public interest litigation and advocacy campaigns.


• This role builds worlds on two tracks: a US track (federal civil rights statutes, NEPA, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act) and an International track (international human rights law, EU environmental directives). Experts qualified in either or both tracks are encouraged to apply.


• Contributors design public interest law scenarios, draft reference outputs, and write rubrics that capture how senior public interest attorneys think.

Key Responsibilities

• Construct scenarios spanning civil rights litigation, environmental compliance and enforcement, and community advocacy or policy reform processes.


• Build tasks across civil rights and constitutional law, environmental law and regulation, housing and consumer protection, immigration and asylum, and government accountability.


• Develop scenarios involving tools such as legal research platforms, case management systems used by legal aid organizations and nonprofits, and regulatory filing systems (e.g., EPA dockets).


• Apply public interest law methodologies (constitutional analysis, regulatory compliance review, impact litigation strategy) to the standards track a world targets (US: federal civil rights statutes, NEPA, environmental statutes; International: human rights treaties, EU directives), and produce reference legal briefs, regulatory comments, and advocacy memoranda.


• Author rubrics that distinguish authentic public interest legal judgment from generic law school or bar exam-level recall.

Ideal Qualifications

• 5+ years working as a public interest attorney at a legal aid organization, advocacy nonprofit, or government agency (ACLU, Earthjustice, NRDC, Legal Aid Society, or a state attorney general's office).


• Direct ownership of impact litigation, regulatory advocacy, or policy reform initiatives.


• Fluency in public interest legal tooling, plus understanding of how regulatory processes and legislative advocacy actually work.


• A recognized professional credential is strongly preferred (JD with bar admission, or an international equivalent); prior rubric, training, or policy authorship is a plus.