Description:

Overview:
NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

Position Summary:
NRDC, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, employs over a hundred lawyers who practice law on a wide range of matters and in various jurisdictions throughout the United States. NRDC is seeking a highly knowledgeable and motivated Associate General Counsel to advise and support NRDC and its employees on a range of legal matters, with a primary, but not exclusive focus on legal ethics in the practice of law and complex professional responsibility matters, along with privacy, security, and other issues.

Associate General Counsel will be part of the Office of the General Counsel, which provides in-house legal support to all NRDC programs and departments, and will also collaborate closely with attorneys on the Litigation Team. The position is based in our Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, New York, NY, Santa Monica, CA or San Francisco, CA office.

Responsibilities:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions. Duties include:

Provide guidance to individual lawyers employed by NRDC and to NRDC as an institution on practice of law issues.
Conduct legal research, and develop and update memos, policies and guidelines on legal ethics and practices.
Interpret complex ethical rules across jurisdictions to ensure legal and professional standards are met within the organization.
Remain up to date on relevant areas of law and communicate relevant changes to staff as appropriate.
Serve as in-house resource on professional responsibility matters.
Serve as point of contact on litigation and legal contracts to resolve complex ethical and institutional matters.
Conduct conflict of interest searches for incoming attorneys and staff and identify areas of concern and provide guidance.
Provide periodic training to all NRDC lawyers and other staff, including but not limited to legal ethics, attorney-client privilege, attorney work product, and common interest privilege.
Work with relevant Legal Operations staff to ensure adequate procedures where conflicts are identified.
Collaborate with HR, IT and other departments to ensure policy and practices alignment.
Support cross-functional teams to address institutional risks, and investigate and resolve privacy and security matters.
Advise relevant staff leaders on emerging compliance trends and risks.
Perform other duties as required, including but not limited to legal operations and institutional risk management.

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position's responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.

Qualifications:
Minimum Education & Experience:

Law degree from an accredited law school
4+ years of related experience, with at least 4 years as a lawyer in relevant area.
Strongly Preferred: In-house legal experience and/or equivalent education or experience
Experience with non-profit legal organizations a plus

Skills, Abilities, Competencies

Significant knowledge of professional responsibility law is preferred.
Willingness to develop additional expertise in relevant subject-matters.
Group presentation speaking experience a plus.
Ability to work both independently and in a collaborative team environment.
Member in good standing in possession of an active license to practice law in a state where NRDC operates and where applicant resides, or eligible to obtain admission within 6 months.
Communicate complex legal concepts clearly and succinctly, including to lay audiences, in both formal training and informal advising.
Excellent drafting, research, and written and oral communication skills.
Strong critical thinking and analytical ability, sound judgment, strategic orientation, and interpersonal maturity.
Ability to meet deadlines independently and with strong attention to detail.
Integrity, professional discretion and ability to handle sensitive/confidential matters.
Flexibility and ability to work well independently on multiple projects with a wide variety of people, at all levels of the organization.
Competence with and commitment to diversity and inclusion; ability to be an effective partner with diverse colleagues, leaders and partners.
Commitment to NRDC's mission, values, and DEI principles

Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position within the described work environment.

Frequently: Perform desk-based computer tasks

Frequently: Ability to interact and communicate with employees and others as necessary

Frequently: Attend planned meetings and collaborate with management and coworkers

Occasionally: Ability to attend events and activities in the office or offsite