Senior Attorney, General Administration

Sierra Club•Chicago, WA

4d•Remote

About The Position

The Senior Attorney, General Administration, works in the Legal Department and assists the General Counsel in providing legal support and advice across the organization. The role reviews organizational decisions for legal and regulatory risk; advises on governance, policy, corporate, and operational matters; and reviews, negotiates, and manages contracts. The attorney works with volunteer leaders and staff at the national and local levels and advises on matters including intellectual property, business partnerships, real estate, and risk management. The position also supports compliance program implementation, contracting procedures and resources, records retention, staff training, legal research, and the handling of legal claims and threats. It is remote, with listed locations in Oakland, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Washington, DC, and reports to the General Counsel for General Administration.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school.
Admission in good standing to a state bar within the United States.
At least 5 years of relevant legal experience, preferably as in-house counsel.
Familiarity with nonprofit organizations, including mission-driven organizations, grassroots infrastructures, and distributed workforces.
Strong legal drafting skills and substantial contract review and negotiation experience, preferably across a broad range of clients and agreement types.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to track multiple priorities involving a wide variety of legal issues.
Ability to communicate and work effectively with volunteers, staff, and outside counsel.
Strong written and oral communication skills.
Excellent legal research skills.
Ability to work independently and constructively as a team member; exercise initiative, set work priorities, and use independent judgment and decision-making.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with or interest in environmental issues and conservation.
Experience managing challenging group dynamics in ways that build credibility, trust, collaboration, respect for individual differences, and fair outcomes across all levels of an organization.
Understanding of and commitment to Sierra Club’s core values of Anti-racism, Balance, Collaboration, Justice, and Transformation.
In-house counsel experience.

Responsibilities

Negotiate, draft, and review contracts and commercial agreements, including real estate and business partnership agreements, in coordination with internal staff and as assigned by the General Counsel or Chief Financial Executive.
Manage implementation and rollout of compliance programs among organizational constituencies.
Review, develop, and improve standard contracting procedures and terms, including maintaining the contract database, updating templates and guidelines, improving procedures, and providing staff training.
Review business practices, decisions, and actions for legal risk in consultation with the General Counsel, including publication risk review for Club communications.
Assist with administration of the records retention policy, including periodic updates, coordinating staff records reviews, and preparing document retention notices with the General Counsel.
Advise and train staff on legal issues and risks, troubleshoot problems, address litigation and legal threats, and respond to matters across a variety of legal practice areas.
Conduct legal research supporting advice on organizational policies, governance, and specific legal and business issues.
Assist the General Counsel in responding to and managing legal claims against Sierra Club and managing outside counsel for litigation and legal threats.
Advise on other business and operational matters relevant to a large, complex tax-exempt organization.
Perform miscellaneous duties, special projects, and reports as assigned.