Assistant Attorney General - Environmental Protection Division, Seattle

State of Washington•King County - Seattle - Downtown Business, WA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the WA State Attorney General’s Office seeks an attorney to litigate significant environmental lawsuits in an exciting, creative, and fast-paced environment. This position will litigate affirmative environmental cases to hold polluters accountable and defend environmental protections. This Assistant Attorney General will work with our Environmental Protection Division and lead and co-lead affirmative environmental investigations and litigation to protect Washingtonians and our environment. The EPD has led high-impact, innovative environmental enforcement matters, including the state’s suit against manufacturers of PFAS-laden firefighting foam products; against Monsanto for PCB damages; against a gold mining company for thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act; and against the Hanford nuclear facility for worker exposure to tank vapors. EPD has also led high-profile litigation against the federal government to defend environmental protections against regulatory rollbacks, including unlawful termination of funding for clean energy programs and EV charging infrastructure, suits to protect clean energy projects, and stop oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Requirements

Graduated from a law school accredited by the ABA or completed the WSBA's Rule 6 Law Clerk Program
Licensed to practice law in Washington State
Demonstrated ability to foster teamwork and collaboration and promote a positive work environment that recognizes and respects all employees
Ability to maintain productive working relationships across the division and with stakeholders, helping to identify and resolve problems
Experience in a full range of discovery and motions practice
Strong analytical, research, and writing skills
Excellent judgment
Experience successfully handling multiple time-sensitive assignments
Commitment to help create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce and culture that encourages and celebrates difference

Nice To Haves

Minimum of two years of civil litigation experience, with additional experience preferred
Familiarity and experience in federal administrative law, environmental, and energy law
Experience with citizen suits under federal environmental laws
Environmental or energy law experience
Federal administrative law experience
Dedicated commitment to public service

Responsibilities

Litigating affirmative civil environmental cases to address environmental, natural resources, and public health problems
Directing and assisting in affirmative investigations and case development and developing creative litigation strategies to address complex legal issues
Drafting pleadings, motions and memoranda from initial filing through post-judgment proceedings
Developing federal administrative matters, including by drafting comments on federal rulemakings and other actions and filing challenges to federal decisions
Representing the AGO in public settings on matters that may be of a sensitive or high-profile nature
Conducting all aspects of discovery
Motions practice, trials, and participating in post-trial proceedings including any appeals