Senior Legal Associate / Legal Associate - CorpNet

Job description and person specification

Please indicate which role you are applying for based on the minimum experience and qualifications indicated below.

Key details

• Positions: Senior Legal Associate and/or Legal Associate
• Contract: 1-year contract, with likelihood of extension.
• Location: Amsterdam or London
• Salary: Senior Legal Associate from EUR 60,000; Legal Associate from EUR 50,000 dependent on the skills, experience and location of the successful candidates
• Starting date: As soon as possible
• Closing date: Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, with applications reviewed on a rolling basis until midnight CET, Wednesday 19 March

About the Climate Litigation Network

The Climate Litigation Network (CLN) is a non-profit foundation (stichting) that works with partners around the world to bring ground-breaking litigation against high-emitting actors to drive stronger climate action. CLN was established in 2016 following the historic Urgenda climate case in the Netherlands, which led to the first decision of a court globally to order a national government to increase its climate ambition. To harness the ground-breaking legal strategy and expertise developed in bringing that case, the Urgenda Foundation set up CLN to inspire and strengthen climate cases brought by local organisations and affected communities against governments. With climate litigation against corporations now on the rise, CLN is expanding its operations to support organisations bringing cases against private sector actors. You can learn more about CLN on our website.

About the role

CLN is recruiting two legal roles to join its dynamic and growing team: a Senior Legal Associate and a Legal Associate. The roles will sit within CorpNet, CLN's new team dedicated to providing support for corporate framework cases. The roles offer a unique opportunity to work at the cutting edge of transnational climate litigation and support the development of this new initiative within CLN.

Responsibilities of the role include

For the Legal Associate position, responsibilities include:

• Providing expert legal and advocacy support to partners advancing strategic climate litigation at the national level.
• Undertaking legal research on issues relevant to national climate cases and sharing findings with the broader CLN network.
• Developing new legal strategies for challenging corporations inadequate climate policies, in consultation with national partners.
• Representing CLN in relevant legal, scientific, policy, and academic networks.
• Supporting the operations of the CorpNet project, including fundraising efforts and monitoring/evaluation of workstreams.

For the Senior Legal Associate position, additional responsibilities include:

• Contributing to the development of CLN s overall strategy, including identifying new opportunities to strengthen climate litigation efforts.
• Assisting in managing relationships with funders and key partners, including contributing to reporting as needed.
• Representing CLN at high-level meetings and fora, including international legal, policy, and academic discussions.
• Managing junior staff and providing mentorship and professional development supervision.

Note: Given the start-up nature of CorpNet, responsibilities may change depending on internal and external needs.

Essential Core Skills and Competencies

For the Legal Associate position, essential skills and competencies include:

• Expertise relevant to corporate climate litigation, including in-depth knowledge of climate change litigation and familiarity with related areas such as international human rights law, business and human rights, domestic civil and corporate law, and/or European law.
• Excellent research, analysis and drafting skills.
• Excellent communication skills, including experience in different cultural
• Experience building and maintaining relationships with a broad range of partners or external collaborators.
• Ability to communicate complex legal issues, tailored to different
• Experience in a role which requires coordination of multiple projects and/or workstreams concurrently.
• Highly motivated, reliable and able to work effectively both independently and as part of a small multi-disciplinary team.
• High level of English-language proficiency.
• Proven time and project management skills, with a flexible and adaptable approach.

For the Senior Legal Associate position, additional skills and competencies:

• Demonstrated experience in leading and mentoring junior legal staff.
• Proven ability to lead complex legal projects, ensuring alignment with organisational
• Experience in shaping long-term litigation strategies and contributing to organisational
• Ability to engage effectively with senior stakeholders, including funders, ensuring strong partnerships and support.
• Established track record of building strategic networks and expanding CLN s impact in key jurisdictions.

Desirable skills and competencies:

• Experience in litigation, especially strategic human rights, business and human rights and/or environmental litigation.
• Experience in campaigns/advocacy work.
• Existing knowledge in the field of climate science.
• Fluency in other languages.

Qualifications and Minimum Experience

Essential:

• LLB or equivalent, with excellent academic performance.
• 2+ years of post-qualification experience for a Legal Associate (preferably with experience in strategic litigation).
• 5+ years of post-qualification experience for a Senior Legal Associate, with a strong focus on strategic litigation and leadership roles.

Desirable:

• Post-graduate qualification in law or (post or under-graduate qualification) in climate science/policy.

Please Note:

You must have the existing right to work in the Netherlands or the UK. CLN is not in a position to support visa applications for candidates.

All documents must be in English.