What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate Attorney, Rocky Mountain Office position at National Legal Aid & Defender Association?
Position Description
Earthjustice seeks an Associate Attorney to join our Rocky Mountain Regional Office based in Denver, Colorado. The position requires 1-5 years of post-law-school legal experience.
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. Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Office and its work at https://earthjustice.org/about/offices/rocky-mountain.
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.
The Associate Attorney position is a three-year position with the potential for extension, designed to help attorneys who are in the early stages of their careers to develop into thoughtful, professional, and effective advocates skilled in the various phases of public interest litigation. As Associate Attorneys gain experience, they gradually take on more independent responsibility for their cases but work throughout their tenure under the supervision of Senior Attorneys, Deputy Managing Attorneys, or the Managing Attorney. Many Associates have gone on to other positions within Earthjustice and with other public interest organizations.
The Associate 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 Associate Attorney will use litigation and advocacy before state and federal energy regulators and courts to promote the growth and accessibility of clean energy resources such as solar, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and battery storage. The Associate Attorney will also work to electrify buildings and transportation; challenge utility investments in coal- and gas-fired power plants; and elevate the voices of environmental justice communities in utility commission proceedings and other regulatory processes. While the Associate Attorney’s work will focus predominantly on climate and clean energy matters, the attorney may also work on other Rocky Mountain Office cases if needed.
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.
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.
Responsibilities
Associate Attorneys perform a range of litigation and advocacy-related tasks that can include:
Earthjustice seeks an Associate Attorney to join our Rocky Mountain Regional Office based in Denver, Colorado. The position requires 1-5 years of post-law-school legal experience.
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. Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Office and its work at https://earthjustice.org/about/offices/rocky-mountain.
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.
The Associate Attorney position is a three-year position with the potential for extension, designed to help attorneys who are in the early stages of their careers to develop into thoughtful, professional, and effective advocates skilled in the various phases of public interest litigation. As Associate Attorneys gain experience, they gradually take on more independent responsibility for their cases but work throughout their tenure under the supervision of Senior Attorneys, Deputy Managing Attorneys, or the Managing Attorney. Many Associates have gone on to other positions within Earthjustice and with other public interest organizations.
The Associate 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 Associate Attorney will use litigation and advocacy before state and federal energy regulators and courts to promote the growth and accessibility of clean energy resources such as solar, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and battery storage. The Associate Attorney will also work to electrify buildings and transportation; challenge utility investments in coal- and gas-fired power plants; and elevate the voices of environmental justice communities in utility commission proceedings and other regulatory processes. While the Associate Attorney’s work will focus predominantly on climate and clean energy matters, the attorney may also work on other Rocky Mountain Office cases if needed.
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.
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.
Responsibilities
Associate Attorneys perform a range of litigation and advocacy-related tasks that can include:
- Conducting legal and factual research.
- Reviewing and analyzing administrative records and technical documents.
- Drafting motions, briefs, and other legal and factual documents in support of litigation and administrative advocacy.
- Participating in proceedings before federal and state courts and agencies.
- Cultivating relationships with clients, experts, allies, and coalition partners.
- Integrating media and legislative advocacy into litigation and other legal strategies.
- Hiring and supervising law students as Earthjustice interns or clerks.