Description
The Conservation Law Center seeks applications for the position of Senior Land Conservation Attorney to join our team based in the beautiful Midwestern college town of Bloomington, Indiana.
Background: Conservation Law Center
The Conservation Law Center (CLC) is the only Indiana-based nonprofit law firm dedicated to addressing some of the most pressing environmental problems through public interest litigation, policy advocacy, and other legal tools. CLC’s growing staff of eleven full-time professionals includes six attorneys experienced in the practice of environmental, conservation, and land use law. Our attorneys provide pro bono representation to environmental nonprofits, land trusts, and community groups to advance solutions to environmental challenges, protect public health in Indiana communities, preserve and protect wildlife and their habitat, and safeguard public trust rights in the Great Lakes.
Training the next generation of public interest-minded lawyers, CLC also operates the Conservation Law Clinic at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, in which law students develop essential lawyering skills working with senior attorneys representing CLC clients in active cases. While much of CLC’s work is Indiana-focused, it often concerns issues with broader implications for the Midwest and nation.
Job Description
This is an exciting opportunity to join a twenty-year-old public interest law firm working on some of the most important and challenging conservation issues in the US and beyond. The Senior Lands Conservation Attorney will focus primarily on land conservation and habitat protection projects, including management of the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape project. The Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape partnership includes federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that work to conserve private and public lands, advance sustainable land management practices, restore forests, protect working lands, and safeguard watersheds and riparian corridors. These efforts not only conserve natural resources and critical wildlife habitat but also provide an essential safeguard for the region’s four service installations. We are bringing landscape-scale conservation to the heartland, and this position will provide key oversight of the effort.
The Senior Land Conservation Attorney will assist with advocacy and support for the organization’s substantive focus areas as they relate to habitat conservation and the broader goals of landscape-scale conservation. Additionally, they will help teach law students enrolled in the Conservation Law Clinic at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. CLC engages in all aspects of conservation advocacy, including litigation. While litigation will not be the main focus of the Senior Land Conservation Attorney’s work, litigation may be necessary to defend conservation easements. CLC expects the Senior Land Conservation Attorney to support the organization’s existing projects and find creative and strategic ways to expand our land conservation practice.
Requirements
Responsibilities:
- Lead CLC’s practice in representing land trusts and conservation organizations on matters related to conservation easements and land-conservation focused real estate transactions.
- Oversee CLC’s Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape program, and work closely and collaboratively with the Sentinel Landscape Partnership Coordinator to accomplish program objectives
- Teach 2L and 3L students through active client matters in the Conservation Law Clinic
- Engage in team problem solving, project management, trial work, and legislative strategies where appropriate
- Develop and implement client relationships
- Work collaboratively with other CLC attorneys and staff, and help create a supportive and collegial work environment
- Help supervise and mentor junior and graduate fellow attorneys
- Develop lectures and discussions on a wide variety of conservation topics to present in seminars and other forums
- Help cultivate strategic relationships with clients, partners, experts, and funders
- Help CLC communicate its work in support of its fundraising and marketing efforts
- Engage in professional development, including attending conferences and participating in opportunities to develop policy papers and articles
- Participate in conservation and environmental networks relevant to CLC’s and the Sentinel Landscape program focus areas
Qualifications
- J.D. and admission to the Indiana Bar (or willingness to take the Indiana bar) with a minimum of 3 years legal experience
- Working knowledge of conservation easements and land conservation legal strategies
- Understanding of 501(c)(3) land trust best practices and Land Trust Alliance accreditation standards regarding execution of land-conservation-focused real estate transactions
- Working knowledge of federal and state conservation programs
- Experience working with agricultural community, local governments, and/or private landowners on conservation projects
- Demonstrated ability to craft creative solutions to complex problems, and the ability to close mutually beneficial land deals
- Professional experience in partnership building and management
- Broad understanding of political, cultural, economic, and environmental issues within Southern Indiana and the Midwest generally
- Strong legal research, writing, analytical, and oral advocacy skills
- Strong sense of personal initiative and work ethic, good judgment, creativity, flexibility
- Commitment and ability to be an exceptional teacher and mentor to early career attorneys and students
- Strong communication skills and the willingness to advocate for CLC’s mission with media, partners, and funders
- Demonstrated commitment to CLC’s core focus areas
- Strong interpersonal skills and the desire to be a member of a supportive team
- Ability and willingness to travel as necessary in support of CLC’s work
