SENIOR LITIGATION COUNSEL FOR CLIMATE/SPECIAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

State of Rhode Island; Providence (RI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 129,000; Full time

Job summary

The State of Rhode Island is seeking a Special Assistant Attorney General focused on leading litigation efforts in the Environment and Energy Unit. This role entails significant responsibility in advancing climate strategy and environmental justice initiatives through active legal representation in state and federal courts. Candidates should possess strong litigation skills and a law degree, with opportunities for professional growth and development.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of litigation experience preferred but not mandatory.
• Strong written/oral advocacy and negotiating skills required.
• Experience in both state and federal court preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead investigations of potential cases and handle civil litigation.
• Work closely with community advocates and outside counsel.
• Develop and support initiatives related to climate change.

Skills

Litigation

Written Advocacy

Oral Advocacy

Negotiation

Environmental Law

Education

Law degree from an accredited law school

Active member of the bar of any jurisdiction

Job description

Duties and Opportunities: For this position, a Special Assistant Attorney General will be responsible for developing, leading, and supporting litigation and other initiatives in support of achieving and enforcing 2021 Act on Climate greenhouse gas reduction mandates and in the many state and other regulatory proceedings stemming from a transition to green energy. The SAAG in this position will be responsible for identifying appropriate novel areas of investigation, identifying local, national, and regional trends, leading investigations of potential cases, pre-trial litigation, negotiation, written and oral argument, trial work, and appeals. Responsibilities also include close work with community advocates, outside counsel, and other Attorney General offices on multistate litigation. This work may be in one or more of a broad range of civil areas including: environmental law, administrative law, energy regulation, mass tort, tort, and land use. The applicant will be expected to carry a full civil litigation caseload in the capacity as first chair, and be expected to draft, file, and argue motions/legal memoranda, as well as litigate, in state and federal court.

Opportunities for Special Assistant Attorneys General in the Civil Division are offered to ensure professional growth and development. Opportunities include attending National Association of Attorney General trainings and conferences throughout the country, serving on state, local, federal, and/or non-profit boards, commissions, working groups, and/or task forces as a designee of the Attorney General, providing substantive expertise to legislative or policy initiatives, and supervising student interns as part of the Office’s legal internship program.
Eligibility: The successful applicant must have a law degree from an accredited law school and be an active member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction. If not a member of the Rhode Island Bar, the candidate must be eligible for admission to the Rhode Island bar and prepared to sit for the bar exam or obtain admission through score transfer.

Qualifications: At least 10 years of litigation experience is preferred but not mandatory. Candidates must have strong written/oral advocacy and negotiating skills and possess the capacity to function in a sometimes-high stress, demanding environment. Extensive experience in both state and federal court is preferred. While experience specific to environmental law may be helpful, candidates with the relevant litigation background and a demonstrated interest in the issues presented by climate change are encouraged to apply.
RHODE ISLAND OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
SENIOR LITIGATION COUNSEL FOR CLIMATE
SPECIAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY UNIT
Paygrade – 8739 ($110,850 - $128,714)
Or commensurate with experience
August 5, 2023 – December 31, 2025

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General is seeking a litigator with extensive state and federal court experience to help lead the Office’s Environment and Energy Unit. The Senior Litigation Counsel will be focused on developing and prosecuting the Office’s climate strategy and addressing co-occurring environmental harms across regulatory, administrative, and judicial modalities. Rhode Island has passed a number of innovative climate laws, including the 2021 Act on Climate, and its geography ensures that climate is at the forefront of securing a just future for all Rhode Islanders. This position provides a unique opportunity to utilize the Office’s legal tools to fight for climate adaptation, mitigation, and resiliency and to enable the green energy future while centering environmental justice principles to ensure an equitable transition.

About the Office of the Attorney General: The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official, protecting and serving the people and interests of Rhode Island through a broad range of duties. Every day, the Office’s attorneys fight to ensure the public safety of the state’s communities, improve the economic security of its citizens, safeguard the state’s spectacular natural resources, and restore the public’s trust in government. Assistant and Special Assistant Attorneys General represent the people of Rhode Island in civil and criminal matters before trial courts, appellate courts, and the supreme courts of Rhode Island and the United States. The Office is unique among attorneys general offices across the country. Out of fifty states, only two other offices share the same broad criminal mission. The Office’s attorneys prosecute complex and violent crimes but also functionally serve as one of the nation’s largest district attorney’s offices, prosecuting all felonies throughout the state.

Environmental and Energy Unit: The Environment and Energy Unit within the Civil Division develops and leads high-impact, cutting-edge advocacy efforts in the environment and energy sectors, counsels the Attorney General and other government officials on environmental and energy-related issues; performs a range of functions, including litigation, public comment, policy development, and provides oversight with respect to state and federal agencies’ regulatory actions and responsibilities. From identifying and pursuing landmark civil actions against businesses and individuals that have harmed or threaten to harm the health of Rhode Islanders and/or the State’s public trust resources, to defending state laws, the Unit’s attorneys are at the forefront of matters being litigated before trial courts, appellate courts, and the supreme courts of Rhode Island and the United States.

If applying for this position via mail or email, there is no need to also apply through online system.

Application Process: Applicants should submit a (1) a cover letter summarizing why you are interested and describing the skills and abilities you possess that will enable you to succeed in this position, (2) resume, (3) list of three references, and (4) a writing sample to:

Aida Gomez
Director of Administration
Office of the Attorney General
150 South Main Street Providence, RI 02903
[e-mail]

Sarah Rice
Assistant Attorney General
[e-mail]

Equal Opportunity Employer: The Attorney General’s Office is stronger, more credible, and more capable when its attorneys bring diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to their work. The Office encourages all qualified applicants from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, veterans, LGBTQ individuals, and persons with disabilities to apply.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, or covered veteran status.

Other Information: Finalists will be subject to a full background investigation including reference checks. All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of the background investigation, receipt of letters of good standing from each Bar in which the applicant is a member, and membership in good standing with, or admission into, the Rhode Island Bar. In certain limited circumstances, applicants may be hired pending temporary or full admission.