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

Compensation:

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

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.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSABILITIES:

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.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Litigate cases primarily in federal court, but also potentially in state court and at the administrative level, pursuant to laws governing management and resource protection on public lands, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other environmental and land use laws.
• Evaluate litigation proposals from the Wild Places program by conducting factual and legal research as needed in furtherance of such evaluation.
• Develop and maintain relationships with outside counsel representing Guardians and work cooperatively as co-counsel with outside counsel.
• Manage and mentor legal interns and contract legal assistance when appropriate.
• Willingness to travel around the United States for case-related matters. Guardians litigates in multiple western states including Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Montana, as well as in the District of Columbia.

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;

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

• 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.

Reports to: Managing/Senior Attorney

Status: Full time, exempt - union eligible

Compensation:

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

Benefits:

WildEarth Guardians offers a friendly and flexible, team-based environment with an excellent benefits package. Benefits include 100% employer-paid premiums for health, vision, dental, life, and disability coverage as well as 50% employer-paid premiums for dependents; a 403(b) retirement plan with a 3% match; paid and unpaid health and family leave; a sabbatical policy, sick leave; and generous paid time off.

Please apply for the position by providing:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Legal Writing Sample (maximum 10 pages)
• Three professional references

No telephone calls, please. If you require assistance applying to this opportunity, please contact us.

Equal Opportunity Employer

WildEarth Guardians is an Equal Opportunity Organization 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 strongly encourage applications from historically excluded communities.

ADA Statement

WildEarth Guardians committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. In keeping with our commitment, WildEarth Guardians, will take the steps to assure that people with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. Accordingly, if reasonable accommodation is required to fully participate in the job application or interview process, to perform the essential functions of the position, and/or to receive all other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact us through our website.

About WildEarth Guardians

Founded in 1989, WildEarth Guardians is a west-wide environmental advocacy organization headquartered in Santa Fe, NM. The organization has offices in Missoula, MT, Boise, ID, Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, and Tucson, AZ, as well as remote staff. We have a 33-year history of securing durable environmental protections that preserve endangered species and other wildlife, advance pioneering supply-side climate policy, ensure living rivers and protect public lands. We do this by pursuing innovative and sustained legal campaigns, bold and creative policy and legislative solutions at both the state and federal levels and by mobilizing grassroots and grasstops constituencies. All this work is in service of our mission to protect and restore wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health in the western U.S.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $80,000.00 - $115,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Remote