Staff Attorney

The Oakland Regional Office of Earthjustice has an immediate opening for an experienced, committed attorney to provide environmental litigation and advocacy services to public interest groups and individuals in California. 

Earthjustice (formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) was established in 1971 as an independent, non-profit law firm to serve the burgeoning environmental movement. It continues to provide free legal services to local and national organizations on conservation and public health issues of broad public concern. Since its inception, it has been involved in many of the nation's most important environmental battles and has established valuable precedents in cases involving air and water quality, endangered species, forestry, public lands use and international environmental law. Earthjustice has its administrative headquarters in Oakland and has regional litigation offices in Bozeman, Denver, Honolulu, Juneau, Oakland, Seattle, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. 

The Oakland Regional Office has litigated for more than 30 years to protect old growth forests, promote salmon recovery, improve air and water quality and reform federal and state land management practices, throughout California and adjacent states. Our current campaign - Healthy Cities, Healthy Wildlands: San Francisco to the Sierra - focuses our resources on addressing the mounting environmental and associated public health threats facing three core areas of the state - the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada. We work to implement this campaign with a mix of Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and other litigation.

At the moment our docket includes litigation challenging the evisceration of the plan that governs management of all 11 national forests in the Sierra Nevada, work to secure ESA protection for the California spotted owl, Bay Delta water quality/fish protection lawsuits and efforts to improve air quality in the Central Valley. For more information about our docket, please visit our website: www.earthjustice.org. 

Staff Attorney Responsibilities include the investigation, development and litigation of an active caseload in federal and state courts. Staff attorneys work both independently and as members of a team representing the interests of diverse groups of clients and managing all aspects of public interest advocacy, at times including non-litigation strategies, media outreach and grant development. 

Qualifications for the Staff Attorney position now available are 10 + years of civil litigation experience, preferably environmental, the ability to manage independently a litigation docket, timely admission to the California bar and a demonstrated commitment to environmental protection and environmental justice. Clean Air Act experience is a plus. A sense of humor is mandatory. Excellent research, writing and oral advocacy skills are essential, as are a sense of initiative, an ability and interest in being a team player and a strong work ethic. 

Salary range $76-100K DOE; excellent benefits. 

Fully staffed, the Oakland Regional office will consist of six attorneys, two research associates and three support staff. The office environment is casual, promoting individuality in a collegial atmosphere. We are located in a historic building around the corner from a BART train stop and also encourage bicycle commuting. 

Although we desire a start date of mid-September, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Send a cover letter, rsum, law school transcript, recent legal writing sample, and professional references to: 

Emily Weber,
Office Manager
Earthjustice
426 17th Street, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612 

Double-sided copies are encouraged and will be appreciated. 

Please, no faxes, phone calls or drop-ins. 

Earthjustice is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people of color and other underrepresented groups who will contribute to the diversity of its staff.