Staff Lawyer - Alberta

At A Glance

• Location: Calgary, or Remote within Alberta
• Hours: 35 weekly
• Salary: $105,000-$122,000 annually, dependent on year of call
• Department Program - Alberta Region
• Reports to: Managing Lawyer – Alberta Region
• Office Requirement: Hybrid or Remote

About Us

As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, our mission is using the law to defend nature, combat the climate crisis, and fight for a healthy environment for all. To achieve this, Ecojustice does three things:

• We go to court - Our lawyers represent citizens, environmental organizations, First Nations, sustainable businesses, labour organizations, and any other groups that share our mission.
• We push for better laws - Our experts testify in front of committees and make recommendations to strengthen environmental legislation.
• We engage the public - Our work highlights environmental issues and changes the conversation, forcing our leaders to sit up and listen.

Our Mission is why people join Ecojustice. People who choose to join us recognize that this planet is our most treasured inheritance, and it is our imperative to be good stewards for the generations who follow us. We believe in protecting the environment while having enough time off to enjoy it. If you are courageous, collaborative, and dedicated to the fight for a healthier environment, you will find your people here.

About The Role

As a Staff Lawyer you will be at the cutting edge of environmental law: working with Ecojustice lawyers from across Canada in bringing strategic, game-changing public interest lawsuits and reforming Canada’s laws to deliver lasting solutions to our most urgent environmental problems: the climate emergency, species extinction and the pollution of the air, water and soil on which all life depends.

A Staff Lawyer works as part of the Ecojustice program team to develop and conduct litigation and law reform files, on behalf of a broad range of clients.  Staff lawyer duties also include a range of related tasks that contribute to our organizational effectiveness and are essential to ensuring our legal work has the maximum impact.

Responsibilities

As a Staff Lawyer, your responsibilities will be to:

·       Develop and carry complex litigation in provincial and federal courts and tribunals

·       Manage new and existing cases from start to finish

·       Support law reform and other work identified as priorities for Ecojustice

·       Contribute as a Program (Climate, Nature, Healthy Communities) team member by:

• • • researching and developing files
    • contributing to development of Program teamwork-plans
    • helping to evaluate projects proposed to the team

·       Keep up-to-date on new developments in relevant areas of law, undertaking reasonable training to maximize expertise

·       Assist program peers in training and maintain the highest practice standards

·       Professional case management and file management

·       Share administrative tasks, including interviewing new staff, supervising, and mentoring students, and helping with responses to new case inquiries

·       Guide and collaborate with supporting communications staff to develop communication opportunities

·       Attend and participate at fundraising or other profile-raising events (external/internal)

Role Success

We are currently working to embed our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation into all aspects of our organization. We value candidates who enjoy building meaningful, collaborative partnerships with equity-seeking groups and operationalizing JEDI-R values in day-to-day practices and operations.

·       Juris Doctor (JD)

·       Member in good standing with the Law Society of Alberta Minimum seven years of litigation experience and the ability to litigate cases from beginning to end

·       First chair litigation experience, ideally in one or more practice areas such as

o   environmental law,

o   administrative law,

o   Aboriginal law

·       Demonstrated experience as first chair or lead in matters before a trial court, appellate court or government tribunals.

·       Ability to explain legal and scientific information and concepts to the general public

·       Experience and training in administrative, environmental, Indigenous or Aboriginal law is an asset

·       Initiative to research, develop and run cases with a team, with partner groups, as a team lead, or independently

·       Willingness to support and mentor early career staff and participate in

·       Commitment to working in a team environment, across disciplines, with individuals across Canada

Our Commitment To Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Ecojustice is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment and is responding to the calls for action to further reconciliation.

We encourage applications from people with relevant job-related skills and who come from communities that have been structurally marginalized based on race, religion, nationality, social or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression. Members belonging to communities that experience marginalization can self-identify during the application process if they choose to do so.

Ecojustice strives to ensure that our online application system and recruitment process are accessible to individuals with different abilities and encourages candidates to contact careers@ecojustice.ca for any accommodation requests.

Great Reasons To Join Us

• Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 charities by Charity Intelligence
• 4 weeks of vacation to start with an accelerated accrual schedule
• Annual winter break
• Hybrid, remote, or full office working models
• 5% salary RRSP contribution after 1 year
• 14 public holidays (including National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and National Indigenous Peoples Day)
• 2 additional “floater” days off
• 4 hours per month of paid personal life organization time
• Additional flexible leave policies that accommodate physical and mental health leave, caregiving responsibilities, volunteering, and other life events
• 100% employer-paid extended health benefits package, including up to $1500 per year of mental health coverage and employee and family assistance program
• $500 per year wellness spending account
• Parental leave top-up for birthing and non-birthing parents
• Colleagues dedicated to environmental impact through their work at Ecojustice (99% mission alignment rating from internal surveys)
• A culture of collaboration where employees are fostered by their managers (97% manager relationship rating from internal surveys)
• Learning opportunities to further our strategic commitment towards justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation

Our Commitment to Transparency

As a charity, our value proposition is that of a mission-based organization, offering high-value benefits and perks. We are consistently benchmarking base pay to the non-profit industry and relevant areas of expertise to ensure we are both competitive and fair. Transparency, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to us. Our litigation practice salaries are predetermined based on our benchmarking practices and increase annually based on year of call.

Keywords

Staff LawyerEnvironmental LawLitigationLaw ReformClimate CrisisSpecies ExtinctionPollutionCanadaEcojustice