Associate Attorney, Sustainable Food and Farming

Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food and Farming Program seeks an Associate Attorney to assist with legal advocacy and litigation. This position will begin ideally in September 2023.  The position will be based preferably in our New York, NY, or Washington, DC offices, although applicants seeking to work in other locations where Earthjustice has an office will also be considered.

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We take on the biggest, most precedent-setting cases across the country. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health; to preserve magnificent places and wildlife; to advance clean energy; and to combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups to engage on the critical environmental issues of our time and bring about positive change. 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 is in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Los Angeles, Tallahassee, Miami, Honolulu, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, Bozeman, and Washington, DC.

The Sustainable Food and Farming Program, within the Healthy Communities Department, engages in litigation and advocacy to improve our nation’s food system, from crop selection and farming practices to food processing and sustainability. Working in partnership with communities, advocacy groups, scientists, and others, we fight for safe and healthy food, climate-friendly farming, reduced reliance on dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and animal farms—not animal factories. We take on cases with regional and national scope.

The Associate Attorney position is a three-year position with the opportunity for extension. Many Associates have gone on to other positions within Earthjustice and with other public interest organizations. The Associate Attorney program is 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 Associates work throughout their tenure under the supervision of a Senior Attorney or the Managing Attorney.

Responsibilities

Associate attorneys perform a range of litigation and advocacy-related tasks that can include:

• Work closely with Earthjustice attorneys, scientists, and professional staff to build cases and support policies that serve a diverse set of clients.
• Participate in the full range of tasks involved in administrative advocacy and complex litigation, including factual investigation, legal research, memo writing, briefing, and oral advocacy.
• Interact with clients and work with experts to develop a clear understanding of the facts involved in each case and, ultimately, to support our litigation goals.
• Represent Earthjustice on telephone calls and at meetings with clients, partners, co-counsel, and experts.
• Develop skills required to serve as spokesperson with print and other media.
• Assist with hiring and supervision of student law clerks.