Legal Fellow, Clean Air Protection

EDF fellowships provide high-quality experiences, including relevant projects and opportunities for networking, that form the foundation serious candidates need to pursue an environmental career.

Location

Hybrid out of EDF’s office in Washington, D.C., with possibility to work U.S. Remote. Eligibility to work in the US is required for the duration of the fellowship.

Duration

2 years, with an opportunity for promotion by second year as attorney pending Bar admission and strong performance review, with anticipated start date of March 2026.

Application Instructions

Interested applicants should attach their cover letter and resume to the EDF application, together with a writing sample (maximum of 15 pages) authored solely by applicant. Please disclose if writing sample was edited by anyone else.

Program/Department Overview

EDF’s Legal & Regulatory team engages in U.S. national, regional, and state efforts to advance and defend protective standards for clean air and mitigation of climate change. The team is sharply focused on reducing air pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, from significant sources such as the power sector and vehicles, so that people can breathe cleaner air and thrive in a climate-stable world.

Overall Function

Legal Fellows contribute meaningfully to EDF, using a layered approach of regulatory advocacy and community partnership. We aim to make the Legal Fellows’ experience relevant, challenging, and rewarding. Legal Fellows have directly contributed towards landmark cases over the years and have supported activities including U.S. Supreme Court litigation, D.C. Circuit litigation over greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act, major international agreements, guidelines regarding trans-boundary pollution control programs in the U.S./Mexico border region, and projects that work towards ensuring protections for low-income and frontline communities from air pollution. Legal Fellows work in a high-intensity, fast-paced, multi-disciplinary setting to formulate and implement strategies, laws, and policies.

The Legal Fellow will work to monitor and defend core climate and clean air protections and policies that advance adoption of clean energy solutions. They will contribute to time sensitive and critical efforts to hold federal government actors accountable for corruption and harmful attempts to weaken such protections. This critical accountability work will include monitoring developments at key agencies and drafting, filing, monitoring, and potentially litigating FOIA requests to obtain government records in the public interest. This work may also include tracking and analyzing the legal impact of actions taken by the White House and federal agencies, to evaluate their impact to climate and clean air protections and laws. This work may also include research and advocacy to bolster core regulatory programs that enhance community safety and environmental protection with regard to energy infrastructure such as gas pipelines. The Fellow will contribute to the team’s work to reduce air pollution from power plants and other major sources through litigation, regulatory advocacy, and litigation. They will report to the Director & Senior Attorney, Clean Air & Energy Markets.

Key Responsibilities

Tasks will include but are not limited to:

• Conduct legal and factual research on climate and energy issues.
• Evaluate the implications of White House and federal agency actions, or court decisions, on climate, clean air, and clean energy policies.
• Seek and evaluate government records, utilizing FOIA and other transparency tools, to assess the impact of federal government activities on climate, clean air, and clean energy objectives.
• Draft public-facing documents such as fact sheets and blog posts about legal issues.
• Represent EDF at public hearings before government agencies.
• Engage in regulatory and administrative proceedings, and provide other support to the team's litigation efforts and regulatory advocacy.
• Support environmental justice initiatives, particularly those related to addressing the disparate impacts of climate change and energy systems.
• Participate in advancing EDF’s organizational effectiveness and culture goals, so people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included and empowered to address environmental and organizational challenges in ways that align with EDF values.

Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law or actively seeking admission to the Bar, with background in environment, energy, and/or administrative law.
• A recent Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from an accredited Law School.
• Demonstrated interest or experience in community engagement, relationship-building, and/or organizing.
• Excellent legal research, analytical, writing and advocacy skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrate ability to think innovatively and willing to take risks and establish new precedents and models.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret legal data and prepare reports of findings.
• Ability to establish and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external allies.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as a member of teams in a dynamic and creative environment with colleagues and partners of varied backgrounds and experience across multiple time zones.
• Results-oriented, self-starter with the ability to think strategically and work on fast-paced, dynamic issues.
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across all cultures and backgrounds.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and meet deadlines.
• Computer proficiency, experience with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

Compensation

We offer a strong total rewards package encompassing competitive salary, robust benefits, and professional development opportunities consistent with a modern global organization. The annual salary for this role is $84,000.

Learn more about fellowships at EDF - http://www.edf.org/environmental-careers/fellowships

84,000 - 84,000 USD