Description:

A Non-Profit Organization seeks a General Counsel who is driven and passionate about the issues we work on to lead our in-house legal department. Our legal department provides legal services to groups in our national network of environmental and public interest organizations on a wide variety of matters and practice areas.

Key Responsibilities:
The General Counsel directs A Non-Profit Organization's legal department. They work closely with leadership of our Network and of the organizations within the Network to allow those groups to achieve their missions while maintaining corporate health, protecting organizational assets and creatively thinking of ways to achieve change. This position requires excellent judgment, discretion and the ability to oversee significant projects. Responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

Directing the legal department: Driving the plans and priorities for the legal department, including developing and managing a department budget, work flow protocols and training programs for network staff on legal and compliance matters.
Corporate and Tax Compliance: Fostering sound corporate governance practices, maintaining the organizations' good standing with federal and state corporate and tax regulators.
Employment Practices: Advising on employment and labor matters and benefits systems
Election Law and Campaign Finance: Advising groups on options and structures for election-related work, including advising on non-partisan voter registration drives, neighborhood voter contact programs, tracking and reporting to FEC and state agencies, and guidelines for fundraising and communications.
First Amendment and Charitable Solicitation: Representing our organizations' right to conduct door-to-door and street canvassing in cities and towns across the country.
Contracts and legal documents: Drafting and reviewing contracts, leases, grant agreements, and other legal documents.
Risk Management: Working with our organizations' leaders to adopt policies that reduce liability risk.
Managing a team: Recruiting, training and managing Assistant and Associate General Counsel, an administrator and interns or fellows. Cultivating relationships and working with Outside Counsel as needed.

Qualifications:
A J.D. is required. The ideal candidate will have excellent academic credentials, ideally 8-16 years of legal experience working in one or more of the practice areas described above, and a strong commitment to nonprofit and political work.

Successful candidates will also bring the following skills and attributes to the position:

Excellent verbal and written communication, research and negotiation skills;
Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously in diverse legal subject areas;
A team orientation that combines strong leadership, congeniality and creativity to drive and motivate others;
An outstanding work ethic and the ability to drive organizational change;
Enthusiasm for the mission of A Non-Profit Organization and its member organizations to effect grassroots social change, and a goal-oriented, activist orientation;
Comfort working with both the most senior staff (CEO, Vice Presidents, Executive Directors, other senior management staff) on major organizational strategies, and with training brand new staff on basic relevant legal principles in an understandable way; and
Prior experience working with or advising nonprofit organizations. Firsthand experience doing organizing, issue advocacy, or political work is a plus.