Senior Attorney, Rocky Mountain Office

Earthjustice • Denver, CO

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Earthjustice is the nation’s leading environmental law organization. Wielding the power of law, Earthjustice partners with our clients to take on the most critical fights of our time — fights to protect the incredible biodiversity and wild places of the planet; to avert climate disaster by transitioning society away from fossil fuels toward clean energy; and to safeguard the right of all people to a healthy environment. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer. Founded in 1971, Earthjustice has a distinguished track record of achieving significant, lasting environmental protections. We achieve this by hiring people who share a passion for justice and a healthy environment. Our headquarters are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Bozeman, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Juneau, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office was established in 1972 as the second of Earthjustice’s now 15 offices. The Rocky Mountain Office works primarily on issues in the Intermountain West and Southwest. We are dedicated to promptly and equitably transitioning states from a reliance on dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy; defending disproportionately impacted and tribal communities from pollution and other environmental harms; and protecting our region’s treasured public lands and wildlife from fracking, mining, and other threats. The Senior Attorney will advance the Rocky Mountain Office’s work to ensure a prompt and equitable transition to a clean energy future in Colorado and Arizona. The Senior Attorney will primarily work to accelerate the shift toward electrifying the transportation sector in Colorado, with a focus on electrifying freight and goods movement. The Senior Attorney will use advocacy and legal tools to strategically advance transportation electrification policies and laws before the Colorado General Assembly, local governments, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, other state agencies, and state and federal courts. The Senior Attorney will also help lead the Rocky Mountain Office’s ongoing clean energy efforts and develop new strategies to ensure a just transition to clean energy. While the Senior Attorney will focus predominantly on transportation electrification matters, the attorney may also work on other climate and clean energy matters involving building decarbonization and the power sector. 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. Our practice increasingly emphasizes a mentorship culture for staff at all levels, and we expect that every Senior Attorney will help nurture the development of early career attorneys and other staff. Senior Attorneys supervise associate attorneys, law clerks, and litigation assistants in connection with their work on projects. This is a hybrid position based in our Denver office and requires regular in-person attendance. Currently, staff are in the office a minimum of one day per week and may otherwise choose whether to work remotely or in the office.

Requirements

• Juris Doctorate (JD) degree.
• Admitted or willing to seek admission to the Colorado bar.
• At least six years of relevant litigation and advocacy experience, working both independently and in a coalition setting.
• Excellent research, analytic, writing, and communication skills required.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with technical experts, especially regarding new technologies and emerging climate and health threats.
• Ability to develop and maintain partnerships with community-based or other grassroots groups interested in energy litigation, climate, air quality, and environmental justice work.
• Experience advocating before policymakers, state regulatory boards, agencies, and/or commissions; experience working with legislative advocates.
• Experience mentoring and supervising others.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with a diverse set of clients and partner organizations.
• Supports Earthjustice’s core values of partnership, inclusion, justice, and excellence.
• Commitment to public interest work and a passion for the role of Earthjustice and its mission, including a desire to fight for the right of all to a healthy environment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience engaging in advocacy and building campaigns and strategies on climate, clean energy, and energy justice issues strongly preferred.
• Experience related to transportation electrification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead strategy and advocacy efforts to electrify transportation, freight, and goods movement in Colorado.
• Work with our policy and legislation staff, as well as clients and partners, to leverage legal and policy advocacy to obtain positive change and results at the Colorado General Assembly, state regulatory agencies, and local governments.
• Lead complex climate and clean energy cases with the full range of litigation tasks, including factual investigation, legal research, discovery, briefing, witness preparation, working with experts, and oral advocacy before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, other state agencies, and state and federal courts.
• Join all Rocky Mountain Office staff in long-term planning, strategy development, and goal setting that advances Earthjustice’s work.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with new and diverse clients and other partner organizations.
• Serve as a spokesperson for Earthjustice, clients, and partners and work with our media team to develop and execute effective media strategies.
• Supervise and mentor associate attorneys, law clerks, and litigation assistants.
• Support and contribute to an equitable and inclusive work culture that encourages partnership, active listening, and integrating diverse perspectives.

Benefits

• mission- and employee-focused work environment
• competitive compensation package
• excellent benefits
• qualifying employer for purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree