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Two-Year Project Attorney, Healthy States Project

Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund

Chicago, IL(remote)

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JOB DETAILS
SALARY
$175,500–$217,100 Per Year
SKILLS
Alternative Energy, Alternative Fuels, Analysis Skills, Attorney, Bar Membership, Biodiversity, Blog, Campaigns, Editing, Environmental Law, Fundraising, Genetics, Legal, Legal Briefs, Legal Research, Litigation, Lobbying, Local Government, Medical Conditions, Policy Analysis, Presentation/Verbal Skills, Reporting Skills, Research Skills, State Government, State Laws and Regulations, Strategic Planning, Willing to Travel, Work From Home, Writing Skills
LOCATION
Chicago, IL
POSTED
5 days ago

Earthjustice seeks a two-year Project Attorney to join our Healthy States project.  Candidates must have at least seven years of litigation or combination of litigation and legal policy experience.  The project attorney will work with staff on the Healthy Communities team and members of Earthjustice’s regional offices to help identify and develop novel litigation, legal advocacy, and regulatory strategies using state and local laws in a small number of jurisdictions.  The goal of the project is to advance state-level and local-level strategies to increase protections from toxic exposure and to hold polluters accountable.   

Earthjustice is the nation’s leading environmental law organization. Wielding the power of law, Earthjustice partners with our clients to take on the most critical fights of our time—fights to protect the incredible biodiversity and wild places of the planet; to avert climate disaster by transitioning society away from fossil fuels toward clean energy; to safeguard the right of all people to a healthy environment. 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 are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Bozeman, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Juneau, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. Driven by a passion for justice, inclusion, partnership, and excellence, our core values lead us to seek a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds to achieve our mission and maintain an inclusive environment where all staff are valued and respected. 
  
Earthjustice’s Healthy Communities work uses legal and policy tools to reduce or eliminate the exposures that harm people’s health and wellbeing.  We recognize that we do this work as part of a broader progressive and social justice ecosystem, and that our advocacy must serve that movement and be informed by the knowledge and wisdom of that ecosystem, especially by those whose lived experiences are most affected by pollution, toxic exposures, and other health burdens. We work closely with community and frontline groups, national and regional EJ advocates, civil rights organizations, tribes, worker and farmworker groups, disability advocates, and others with a stake in the issues we work on.  
 
Responsibilities 
  • Conduct legal research in an array of fields, including but not limited to environmental law. 
  • Identify and develop novel legal advocacy approaches. 
  • Support litigation in state courts to advance Earthjustice’s mission. 
  • Conduct administrative analysis, and advocate before state and local governments. 
  • Develop and execute toxics-focused advocacy campaigns in collaboration with other Earthjustice attorneys as well as Earthjustice lobbyists and communications staff. 
  • Collaborate with co-counsel in other organizations and oversee the work of outside experts. 
  • Collaborate with Earthjustice staff on communications efforts, including writing reports and blogs. 
  • Work with Earthjustice staff to help inform fundraising efforts. 
  • Join other Earthjustice staff in planning and strategy development as appropriate. 
  • Help create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, and work with colleagues, clients, and partners in a manner consistent with those efforts. 
  
Qualifications 
  • Juris Doctor (JD) degree. 
  • Active bar membership in relevant working location. 
  • 7+ years of litigation experience, or a combination of litigation and legal policy work. 
  • Comfort with learning new areas of law. 
  • Excellent legal research, writing, and oral advocacy skills. 
  • Initiative, judgment, collegial work style, and a strong work ethic. 
  • Ability and willingness to travel for case work and internal meetings. 
  • Strong preference for those with experience using legal frameworks to advance social and/or environmental justice. 
Compensation 
We offer a competitive salary and excellent, comprehensive benefits. We also offer a casual and congenial work environment. As a 501(c)(3) organization, Earthjustice is a qualifying employer for purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. 
 
This is a full-time role at 37.5 hours/week. The successful candidate may work remotely from the U.S. or on a hybrid schedule from Earthjustice’s offices in Chicago, New York City, or Washington, DC, and must be willing to travel as needed. We are seeking those who can begin in summer 2026 and work for 24 months.     
 
Salaries at Earthjustice are determined by experience level and working location. The annual salary ranges for this role are:  
Salary Range in New York :  $175,500 - $217,100
Salary Range in Washington, DC & Chicago, IL:   $166,700 - $206,200
Salary Range for Remote (US): $149,200 - $217,100
  
To Apply 
 
Interested candidates should submit the following materials via Jobvite. 
  
  • Resume. 
  • Cover letter. Yourletter should describe: (i) The reasons you are interested in working at Earthjustice; (ii) The location(s) where you would prefer to work, your preferences regarding in-office work, and any particular requirements or flexibility on these issues; (iii) Your strengths, expertise, and interest in doing legal advocacy to increase protections from toxic exposures, and (iv) Your experience developing novel legal strategies. 
  • Two writing samples that reflect your own legal or policy analysis, as least one of which must be a legal brief or motion. Each writing sample should be no more than 12 pages, written primarily by you with a cover note indicating the level of editing by others. 
Our preferred application deadline is July 5, 2026. Applications received after may be reviewed on a rolling basis until the role is filled. Incomplete applications will not be considered.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 given 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.  
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About the Company

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Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund