Climate Programme Lawyer

~ ClientEarth is a charity that uses the power of the law to protect the planet and the people who live on it. We are lawyers and environmental experts who are fighting against climate change and to protect nature and the environment. ~

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a lawyer with a strong corporate or financial services background and litigation experience to make a key contribution to the work of ClientEarth’s Climate Programme.

The programme uses a range of laws, including corporate and financial, environmental and human rights laws to influence private and public actors with the ultimate objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. The Climate Programme has particular expertise in using corporate and financial laws to drive greater integration of climate-related financial risks into the management decisions of companies and influential actors in the financial sector.

You will use your expertise to support the work of the team across both the Climate Finance and Climate Accountability Initiatives, which develop targeted legal interventions to drive states, companies and financial sector actors to align policy, strategy and investment decisions with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The focus of this role is to support our work targeting companies and the financial sector globally.

Location:

• This position will be based in any European office of ClientEarth (London, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid or Warsaw) and will involve occasional travel. Other European locations are potentially available.
• Please specify the office to which you are applying and/or any other location arrangement you would request/require.

Role Requirements:

• The ideal candidate will have experience in a relevant corporate or financial services environment specifically with a litigation or disputes practice (in private practice or in-house), ideally with some experience working in the EU, US or Asia with corporate and financial sector actors.
• They will need to be able to work in a fast-paced environment and have experience working across multiple jurisdictions.
• A strong commitment to climate and energy related issues is essential.

Working Relationships:

• The position will report to the Climate Accountability Project Lead or the Climate Finance Project Lead. The post holder will also have key relationships with the Climate Programme, the Strategic Climate Litigation programmes, the Central Litigation team and other lawyers within ClientEarth working on crossprogrammatic climate-related legal interventions.
• The post holder will also work closely with an external network of campaigners, NGOs, experts and external counsel.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with lawyers across the Climate Programme, cross-programmatically within ClientEarth and with external partners or collaborators on a range of prelitigation and litigation activities including managing active litigation in a range of jurisdictions;
• Work with lawyers across the Climate Programme, cross-programmatically within ClientEarth and with external partners or collaborators to identify opportunities and develop strategies for targeted legal intervention, litigation or regulatory complaints that support our programme’s objectives;
• Conduct research and prepare internal briefings on matters relating to climate change law and policy, energy law and policy, company law and reporting, fossil fuel use and development and human rights, and collaborate with Energy Programme on related energy law and policy issues;
• Prepare high-quality written work – for example, legal letters or briefings, regulatory complaints and producing other work product designed to communicate ClientEarth’s thinking to a wide variety of legal, policy, political, civil society and interdisciplinary audiences, including (co-)authoring publications and making presentations before a range of audiences; and
• Participate in formal and informal forums and groups, and representing ClientEarth’s thinking and analysis in external forums.

Person Specification

Education and Training:

• Law degree or equivalent (essential); and
• Relevant legal professional qualification (essential), with qualification in the UK, US or an EU Member State (desirable).

Experience & Knowledge:

• Experience in a relevant corporate or financial services environment, specifically with a litigation or disputes practice (in private practice or inhouse), with preference for experience working with corporate and financial sector actors in the EU, US or Asia;
• Experience of working across multiple jurisdictions in a fast-paced environment;
• An interest and understanding of climate and energy related issues; and
• Fluent in English (essential) and at least one other language (strongly preferred).

Key Competencies:

• Excellent creative, critical and lateral thinking and excellent analytical skills;
• Ability to grasp new concepts and relevant laws (including comparative law in a multi-jurisdictional practice) quickly, with an openness to learning and developing new ideas;
• Excellent legal research, analysis, writing, advisory and advocacy skills;
• A practical, outcome-focused approach to the law;
• Ability to think and plan strategically, and to break down written and oral communication skills to give authoritative advice and influence external audiences, to adapt language, content and style to make communications relevant to policy-makers, funders and press;
• Confident working with and assimilating complex technical, scientific, political and legal material;
• Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative manner within a multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual and multicultural environment;
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to set priorities and manage multiple tasks and react positively in light of shifting and competing timelines; and
• Motivated to achieve results and to spot and take advantage of opportunities to achieve change.

Please note: ClientEarth will only be able to employ those who have the legal right to work in the country where this post is based.

Closing Date: 16 September 2019

ClientEarth is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.