Senior Attorney

Job Opportunity: Senior Attorney

Location: Based in either the Philadelphia or Pittsburgh office

Classification: Full-time, non-exempt

Reports to: Legal Director

Deadline: Applications accepted until the position is filled

About Clean Air Council: Clean Air Council is a member-supported environmental organization serving Pennsylvania and the surrounding regions. The Council is dedicated to protecting everyone’s right to a healthy environment. The Council works through a broad array of sustainability and public health initiatives, including public education, community action, government oversight, and enforcement of environmental laws. The Council is an equal opportunity employer and has a strongly held belief in the importance of having a diverse workforce.

Position Description: The Senior Attorney is a full-time, in-house attorney that works on and manages litigation, regulatory affairs and comments, policy, legal education and advocacy, and corporate counsel matters, as needed. The Senior Attorney works closely with other members of the legal team on a full range of environmental legal efforts in Pennsylvania, elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region, and nationally. The Senior Attorney will be experienced and take on complex and high-level legal work, frequently acting as the lead in these matters and supervising other attorneys in this work. The Senior Attorney may, at times, be asked to act as the Legal Director in the Legal Director’s absence.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as lead counsel on large and/or complex matters.
• Litigate matters from start to finish in administrative, municipal, state, and federal fora.
• Work closely with the Council’s outreach team to review a wide array of factual scenarios affecting the environmental health of communities and develop advocacy and/or litigation strategies.
• Supervise the work of colleagues who are collaborating on the same matters.
• Draft technical comments for submission to regulatory agencies in response to policy and permit proposals and engage with those agencies on those proposals.
• Collaborate and maintain professional relationships with the Council’s partners.
• Represent the Council in various public-facing communications.
• Provide in-house counsel services, such as review of contracts and internal policies.
• Assist in grant writing and reporting.
• Occasionally assist the Legal Director in management and oversight of the legal team.
• Identify new legal advocacy opportunities for the Council.

Responsibilities may change over time.

Ideal Competencies, Skills, and Experience:

• A minimum of seven years of experience as a practicing attorney, including significant litigation experience.
• Environmental law experience at the federal, state, and/or local levels.
• Special consideration given to individuals with experience in the Clean Air Act, science, or engineering.
• Strong writing, editing, proofreading, and communications skills.
• Well-established interest in public interest or environmental work.
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to make decisions based on research and data.
• Driven, creative, and comfortable in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships.
• Ability to handle competing deadlines and interests from different stakeholders.
• Ability to demonstrate both strong independent and collaborative work.
• Alignment with, and passion for, Clean Air Council’s mission.
• Practicing attorney with PA bar admission or willingness to join the PA bar promptly.

If you are strong in most of the ideal experience and skills listed above but not all, we still encourage you to apply. We value unique perspectives gained from different backgrounds and experiences and are dedicated to supporting our staff’s professional growth. We look forward to reviewing your application and seeing what you can bring to our team.

Benefits: The Council’s staff benefits currently include the following:

• Health insurance, vision insurance, and dental insurance
• Optional flexible spending account
• Generous PTO
• 13 paid holidays, including when the office is closed between 12/25 and 1/1
• 401k with a 4% match
• Long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Public transit benefit
• Flexible hybrid work (in addition to in-person meetings and events)