Legal Assistant, General Counsel

Title: Legal Assistant, General Counsel

Location: San Francisco United States

Remote, United States

Job Description:

Earthjustice is the nation's leading environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, preserve magnificent places and wildlife, advance clean energy, and combat climate change. We are here because the Earth needs a good lawyer.

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 seeks a Legal Assistant to support the Office of General Counsel (OGC), which includes both attorneys and Earthjustice’s Legal Operations Department. The successful candidate will provide legal, operational, and administrative support across a broad range of matters, including litigation management, internal legal operations, governance support, compliance matters, contracts, and organizational risk management.

The Legal Assistant to the OGC is designated as a confidential employee and works closely with the department on a wide variety of legal, compliance, and employee relations matters. The position has regular access to privileged and confidential information, including legal advice, litigation strategy, investigations, and personnel matters, and requires strict adherence to Earthjustice policies, ethical, and applicable legal standards of confidentiality.

This is a non-supervisory position.

The Legal Assistant is expected to work a full-time schedule of 37.5 hours per week. This position can be remote or hybrid. For hybrid applications, the position is based in either San Francisco or Washington, D.C.

What You'll Do

Legal Project Support (15%)

• Prepare, proofread, format, cite-check, assemble, and track documents prepared as part of OGC projects and workflows, including helping prepare and track filings, trainings, guidance, advice, and other materials prepared by OGC.
• Assist attorneys with document review and production preparation.
• Support oversight of attorney admissions, renewals, registrations, and associated e-filing accounts.

OGC & Legal Operations File System Support (15%)

• Maintain internal team sites, intranet pages, and other electronic and physical record repositories in accordance with team requirements, organizational policies, and confidentiality requirements.
• Help build and maintain a repository to track team legal advice, templates, and general guidance, and route inquiries to responsible attorneys.
• Provide general office and operational support, including responding to inquiries in the general inbox, coordinating supplies and equipment, and supporting department workflows as needed.

Contract Lifecycle Management Support (35%)

• Support maintenance of internal contract databases, including database upkeep, document uploads, and preliminary review of contracts against approved templates and utilizing contract review tools including generative AI.
• Help build a central repository for organizational and litigation program contracts.

Administrative Support (30%)

• Provide scheduling, calendar management, travel coordination, meeting support, and document creation/formatting support for attorneys and staff in OGC, including logistics and other support for meetings, trainings, retreats, presentations, legal guidance, and onboarding, training coordination, and operational support for new staff.
• Process expense reimbursements, invoices, and other administrative documentation.
• Exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality regarding nonpublic, privileged, or otherwise sensitive information learned in the course of employment, except as disclosure is authorized, required, or protected by applicable law, including in responding to internal and external inquiries.

Ongoing Learning (5%)

• Actively pursue professional development and contribute to a culture of learning by building skills and sharing knowledge.

Please note that the percentage breakdowns provided above serve as a guideline and that other duties may be assigned as part of the job’s requirements.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of relevant experience.
• 2+ years of experience as a litigation assistant, legal practice assistant, paralegal, executive assistant, confidential employee, and/or in a comparable professional role is preferred.
• Excellent organizational, proofreading, research, and administrative and computer skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, databases, spreadsheets, videoconferencing platforms, and legal filing systems with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple assignments while meeting deadlines and maintaining accuracy under pressure.
• Strong judgment, professionalism, discretion, and ability to maintain confidential and sensitive information.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of contract review and experience with Contract Lifecycle Management and/or Generative AI contract review tools is a significant plus.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with staff across offices and time zones.
• Flexible, punctual, highly reliable, and willing to take on tasks ranging from substantive legal support to administrative work.
• Demonstrated commitment to Earthjustice’s values of Justice, Excellence, Inclusion, and Partnership.

Salary & Benefits

We offer a competitive salary and excellent, comprehensive benefits. We also offer a casual and congenial work environment.

Salaries at Earthjustice are determined by working location and are commensurate with the experience required.

The annual salary range for this role in San Francisco, CA or New York, NY is $76,400 - $84,900.
The annual salary range for this role in Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, Seattle, WA, or Los Angeles, CA is $72,600 - $80,700.
The annual salary range for this role in Philadelphia, PA or Denver, CO is $68,900 - $76,500.
The annual salary range for this role in Miami, FL or Houston, TX is $65,000 - $72,200.
The remote salary range will be dependent on specific location, between $65,000 - $84,900.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for personnel so classified.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to employment practices that ensure that employees and applicants for employment are provided with 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.

For positions located within the City and County of San Francisco Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

For positions located within the City of Los Angeles: We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

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