Staff Attorney - Wild Places

WildEarth Guardians; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan with 3% match

Paid and unpaid leave

Sabbatical

Generous paid time off

Job summary

WildEarth Guardians seeks a Staff Attorney to join its Legal Team, supporting the Wild Places program with strategic litigation to protect public lands and waters. The role reports to the Managing Attorney and involves complex cases across federal and state courts, including litigation in NEPA, NFMA, FLPMA, the Wilderness Act, and ESA.

Location options include Portland, OR and other western states, with remote work in some cases.

Qualifications

• Current bar membership in at least one contiguous western state.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in environmental and natural resources litigation.
• Combination of litigation and litigation-adjacent experience considered.
• Excellent writing, research, analysis and oral advocacy skills.
• Ability to manage a busy litigation docket with a minimum of three substantive cases pending.

Responsibilities

• Develop and litigate cases in federal court under NEPA, NFMA, FLPMA, Wilderness Act, and ESA.
• Conduct factual and legal research and prepare memoranda for evaluation of litigation proposals.
• Handle motions practice and potential appellate advocacy.
• Incorporate DEIJ considerations into case evaluation and development.
• Develop and maintain relationships with outside counsel and collaborate with teams.
• Mentor legal interns and contract staff as appropriate.
• Support case-related communications with the media and staff.
• Occasional travel around the United States for case-related matters.

Skills

Bar admission (western state)

Environmental litigation

Legal research

Oral advocacy

Public interest litigation

Independent work / collaboration

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY:

At a time when public lands and bedrock environmental protections face profound threats, WildEarth Guardians seeks a dynamic, motivated, and public interest-focused attorney to join our Legal Team as a Staff Attorney. This role reports to the Managing Attorney. Working primarily in support of Guardians’ Wild Places program, the Staff Attorney will develop and litigate strategic cases to protect, restore, and reconnect the West’s vast public lands and waters; defend wild landscapes and biodiversity from destructive extractive uses, including livestock grazing, logging, mining, development, and excessive road and motorized use; safeguard public lands from privatization; and advance ecologically sustainable public-lands management. The Staff Attorney will also provide litigation support to Guardians’ Wildlife program, helping protect native species and the healthy, connected habitats they need to thrive.

Salary Range: Staff Attorney (4-8 years of litigation experience): $80,000 to $95,000; Senior Staff Attorney (8+ years of litigation experience): $95,000 to $115,000

Location: Preferred locations: Portland, OR; Santa Fe, NM; Denver, CO; or Missoula, MT. Remote work in other contiguous western states will be considered depending on level of experience.

Reports to: Managing/Senior Attorney

Status: Full time, exempt - union eligible

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and litigate cases from the claims inception phase to final resolution on the merits primarily in federal court, but also potentially in state court and at the administrative level, pursuant to laws governing management and resource protection on federal public lands, such as NEPA, NFMA, FLPMA, the Wilderness Act, and ESA
• Conduct factual and legal research and prepare in-house litigation memoranda for evaluation of litigation proposals from the Wild Places program staff
• Handle motions practice and potential appellate advocacy
• Incorporate DEIJ considerations and organizational objectives into prospective case evaluation and development
• Assist the Managing Attorney and Program Director in developing broader, long-term, strategic legal campaigns for the program
• Develop and maintain relationships with outside counsel who represent the organization and work collaboratively when litigating with other groups
• Manage and mentor legal interns and contract legal assistance when appropriate
• Support case-related communications with the media, by helping prepare press materials, backgrounders, blog posts, op-eds, social media content and other commentary in collaboration with staff from the Communications team and Wild Places program
• Occasional travel around the United States for case-related matters

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Current bar membership in at least one contiguous western state, required
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in environmental and natural resources litigation required
• We will consider a combination of litigation and litigation-adjacent experience such as administrative appeals/advocacy, record review, and formal commenting on agency actions
• Excellent writing, research, analysis and oral advocacy skills
• Ability to handle a busy litigation docket with a minimum of three substantive, record review cases pending at any given time
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest environmental advocacy
• Creative, self-starter with proven ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Ability to discern when to be proactive and when to follow direction
• Willingness to take calculated risks
• Integrity, kindness, and sense of humor
• Ability to travel as needed for case-related matters

BENEFITS

• 100% employer-paid premiums for health, vision, dental, life, and disability coverage as well as 50% employer-paid premiums for dependents
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 3% match
• Paid and unpaid health and family leave
• Sabbatical policy, sick leave
• Generous paid time off

WildEarth Guardians is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, family/marital status, religion or other protected classes.

We encourage applications from underrepresented communities and people from historically excluded groups.