Outside Legal Counsel

Position Description

Rails to Trails Conservancy is seeking proposals from a law firm or lawyer to serve as outside counsel in support of RTC’s legal program.

RTC’s legal program is the only nonprofit program in the country that regularly goes to court to support and defend rail-trails and multiuse trails against legal threats.

We have issued a request for proposal, due July 3rd, for a firm or lawyer who will initially serve in a mentee role with RTC’s general counsel and ultimately transition to provide consistent long-term services advancing trails greenways and other walking and biking infrastructure across the United States.

The RFP can be found on the Careers page of our website: https://www.railstotrails.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/RTC-RFP-Legal-S...

The selected firm or attorney shall provide the following range of legal services to RTC:

• With the assistance of RTC staff, identify and monitor legal proceedings in the courts and
  
  

administrative agencies that potentially affect the legal and policy framework for rail-trail

conversions.

• Selectively participate in litigation that holds the potential to set significant precedent relevant to
  
  

rail-trail conversions or that otherwise impacts RTC’s core priorities.

• Develop and oversee a network of pro-bono lawyers who assist RTC’s participation in litigation,
  
  

including drafting legal briefs and presenting arguments in court.

• Advise and support RTC policy staff in responding to proposed actions in Congress, state legislatures
  
  

and federal agencies that potentially affect railbanking and other RTC policy priorities.

• Selectively advocate before the Surface Transportation Board and other federal agencies to ensure
  
  

that administrative decisions and proposed rules encourage and protect rail-trail conversions, and

advise and support RTC’s trail development and policy staff on administrative matters.

• File “friend of the court” briefs in cases that raise issues involving the interpretation and application
  
  

of laws facilitating rail-trail conversions including, but not limited to, the federal railbanking law,

conversion of federally granted rights-of-way, and environmental and historic preservation laws and

regulations.

• Provide technical assistance to RTC program and policy staff, trail activists, trail managers and their
  
  

legal counsel in response to legal questions on the implementation of railbanking, rail-trail

conversions, compliance with environmental and historic preservation requirements, as well as legal

issues relating to trail conservancy projects, liability and policy.

• Provide training to RTC program staff and its partners and develop resource materials and other trail related content.
• Provide corporate general counsel services, including review of contracts and advice on nonprofit
  
  

corporate, tax and personnel matters