Managing Attorney, Clean Energy Program

Earthjustice is the nation’s largest, oldest, and most active public-interest environmental law organization. Our team of over 550 staff — including over 200 litigators—wields the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect public health, address environmental injustice, defend and restore magnificent places and irreplaceable ecosystems, and transition our economy to 100% clean energy while working to protect people and the planet from climate change. We partner with thousands of groups, tribes, individuals, and communities to address the environmental crises of our time. 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 excellent staff who share a passion for justice and a healthy environment. Our headquarters are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Los Angeles, Tallahassee, Miami, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Bozeman, and Washington, D.C.

Earthjustice seeks to hire the next Managing Attorney of its Clean Energy Program. The Clean Energy Program  litigates and advocates across the country to secure a clean and equitable electricity grid, cut power sector emissions and hold polluters accountable, and electrify our building and transportation sectors. Specifically, we work in the courts and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, public utility commissions and other federal and state agencies to end our nation’s reliance on dirty, expensive, and outdated coal-fired power; clean up coal’s toxic legacy; stop a rush to build new gas generation and cut existing gas use; scale and increase access to clean energy resources; secure strong power sector pollution standards; and advance electrification.

The Managing Attorney leads and oversees the work of the Clean Energy Program, providing leadership for a team comprised of roughly 40 attorneys and professional staff based in several locations across the country. The Managing Attorney will directly supervise and collaborate with a group of senior staff who have responsibilities related to management, supervision and/or program leadership, and will work across the whole program to support team members and advance our program goals. The Clean Energy Program comprises two energy programs at Earthjustice that merged in 2022, and continuing to build and support the combined team is a core function of this position. The Managing Attorney also manages, develops, and implements strategies that align with organization-wide strategic plans and programmatic and litigation priorities; drives efforts to build and maintain effective working relationships with partners, the news media and supporters; and serves as the primary public face of the program.

This is a significant opportunity for a dynamic leader to use their skills, the power of law, and the strength of partnership to deliver meaningful results for the environment, public health, and communities across the nation. The Managing Attorney will lead a gifted, diverse team of attorneys and professional staff, and work with them to advance the goals of a key program team of the largest public interest environmental law firm in the country. In addition to staff within the program, the Managing Attorney will partner with executive leadership and Litigation, Development, Communications, and Policy and Legislation staff across the organization. Management and program leadership are essential skill sets for this position, and the successful candidate will be committed to excellence in both areas.

The Managing Attorney will be based in one of the following Earthjustice offices: Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, D.C. This is not a remote work position. Earthjustice teams are working hybrid.

The Managing Attorney will report to the Vice President of Litigation, Climate & Energy, who is based in Washington, DC.

Responsibilities

Management

• Manages and leads a diverse team with emotional intelligence and cultural competency.
• Effects and manages organizational and program change through strategic thinking and transparent communication.
• Manages and guides the development of program staff to ensure they have the training, mentoring, resources, feedback, and support to maximize their performance and skills development.
• Directly supervises and collaborates with Clean Energy Program management team.
• Ensures that direct reports are properly executing their supervisory responsibilities.
• Creates a learning culture, including by implementing practices related to debriefing and delivering high-quality performance feedback, celebrating successes and reflecting on setbacks, and acting as a coach and mentor.
• Communicates effectively with staff and provides and encourages ongoing feedback.
• Creates a respectful and inclusive work environment for team and models respectful and inclusive behavior.
• Resolves interpersonal conflict among team members and brings in outside facilitators as needed.
• Communicates institutional vision, policies, objectives, and initiatives to program staff.
• Creates and advances efforts for team building and individual and overall staff engagement with one another in order to strengthen teamwork, interaction, and collaboration.
• Oversees the administrative functions of the program.
• Fosters a work environment that aligns with Earthjustice’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals and helps ensure the advancement of such goals.
• Develops and embraces practices and policies that promote a respectful and inclusive workplace and that foster community and teamwork among a diverse group of staff. Promptly addresses micro-aggressions, implicit biases, and any other equity or inclusion concern brought to their attention. 
• Recruits, hires, and retains qualified candidates to support and grow a highly effective program.
• Other duties as assigned.

Program Leadership

• Leads the program in setting its vision and shaping its litigation and legal advocacy docket and related strategies that align with Earthjustice’s mission, strategic plans, core values, priorities, and other administrative policies and guidance.
• Works collaboratively with program staff to maximize the quality and impact of the program’s total litigation and advocacy effort.
• Builds and maintains effective working relationships with clients, communities, environmental groups, and other partners.
• Works closely and productively with other teams within the litigation department and with Earthjustice’s policy, communications, and fundraising teams to advance programmatic and institutional goals.
• Serves as an ambassador and spokesperson for the program and the organization by, among other things, working effectively with the news media, government officials, and supporters.
• Serves as an active member of the Managing Attorneys group, to help provide institutional leadership and set broader institutional priorities and direction.

Continued Personal Learning

• Participates in organization-wide initiatives and trainings that contribute to the creation of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture that encourages and celebrates differences.
• Utilizes internal and external resources to support their personal and professional development in a way that increases awareness and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.

Qualifications

• Excellent management skills, including the ability to lead a large, geographically dispersed team, implement processes to ensure smooth program functioning and teambuilding, and foster effective communication, collaboration, decision-making, and mutual respect.
• At least 5 years of experience managing litigation or legal advocacy teams in a diverse and inclusive environment.
• Highly effective litigator with 10+ years of litigation or legal experience. Substantial experience in energy, environmental, and/or public interest law is strongly preferred.
• JD required. Admitted to the bar of the state/jurisdiction where located or accomplishing admittance within 14 months of employment.
• Ability to supervise a complex litigation and advocacy docket and to guide litigation across a range of subject matters, while nurturing professional development.
• Excellent interpersonal skills that show the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships internally and with a diverse set of external partners.
• Experience and interest in coaching, guiding, and mentoring staff at different levels of their career development to continually improve their effectiveness.
• Strong capacity for strategic thinking, goal setting and prioritization that encompasses a wide range of issues and leverages multifaceted pragmatic approaches to ensure high-quality results.
• Entrepreneurial with the ability to identify and seize new opportunities, combined with the capacity to work well collaboratively as part of regional and national teams.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills, with the ability to write and speak clearly and persuasively.
• Experience working with community and government leaders, and the media.
• Commitment to making Earthjustice and the Clean Energy Program a highly effective, cutting-edge litigation and legal advocacy shop.
• Ability to partner productively and respectfully with other organizations, including community-based organizations, to achieve objectives.
• Ability and desire to participate effectively in fundraising efforts by developing and maintaining relationships with donors; experience with fundraising in a professional or volunteer capacity is a plus.
• Ability to manage operations, including budgets and general office and administrative matters, with support from Legal Practice Manager.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Management skills (essential)

• Ability to lead staff through organizational and program change.
• Ability to foster mutual respect, effective communication, and collaboration.
• Self-awareness and understanding of the impact of behavior and emotional intelligence in the workplace.
• Excellent cultural competency reflecting the ability to understand different cultures, backgrounds, and orientations and apply that understanding in a management context.
• Understands individual and team strengths and areas for development and develops plans accordingly.
• Ability to give and receive regular feedback in a timely, constructive, respectful, and consistent manner, and to incorporate debriefing into the team’s operations.
• Demonstrated experience and interest in coaching, guiding, and mentoring a diverse workforce at different levels of their careers to continuously improve their effectiveness and reach their full potential.
• Experience recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.
• An understanding of how race dynamics can impact supervisory relationships, organizational culture, partnerships, campaigns, and coalition work. Demonstrated history of promoting racial justice within an organization a plus.
• An understanding of how systemic racism affects present-day legal systems and an ability to advance racial equity goals through legal strategies.

Salary

We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits that are comprehensive and competitive. Salary is based on number of years of relevant experience and location.

Salary range in San Francisco or New York City: $225,900 - $251,000

Salary range in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, CA or Chicago, IL: $214,700 - $238,500

Salary range in Philadelphia, PA: $203,300 - $225,900

To Apply

Please apply online via Jobvite by September 5, 2023.

Please submit your resume and cover letter.

Cover letters should address:

• 1) your interest in, and qualifications for, serving as a Managing Attorney
• (2) why you are drawn to Earthjustice’s mission and the Clean Energy Program
• (3) your leadership and management experience
• (4) aspects of your background that demonstrate competence to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in work with clients and colleagues.

Also, please include the earliest date you would be available to begin work.

The application screening process is ongoing until a candidate is hired. Preference will be given to candidates who apply by September 5. After that, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Please reach out to jobs@earthjustice.org if you are having technical difficulties submitting your application. No phone calls, drop-ins, or hard copies.

Earthjustice is driven by a passion for justice, partnership, and excellence. Our core values lead us to seek a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds to achieve our mission and to maintain an inclusive environment where all staff are valued and respected. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to employment practices that ensure that employees and applicants for employment are provided with equal opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other factor that is not related to the position.

For positions located within the City and County of San Francisco Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

For positions located within the City of Los Angeles: We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.