Staff Attorney

The Staff Attorney provides legal support to Oceana’s global campaigns and strategic legal initiatives by researching campaign issues; tracking legal trends; advising on complex legal strategies; and supporting Oceana offices worldwide. This role will contribute to high-impact litigation and policy efforts across multiple jurisdictions and collaborate with international offices to advance Oceana’s mission.  

Principal Duties and Responsibilities 

Essential Functions: 

• Serve as an integral part of legal and policy teams to achieve advocacy goals, including: 
  • Providing strategic legal advice to campaigns and initiatives, identifying options for achieving objectives within relevant legal and regulatory frameworks.
  • Developing and implementing litigation strategies to advance Oceana’s priorities at regional, national, and international levels.
  • Conduct legal research and analysis to support Oceana’s campaigns and global initiatives. 
  • Draft and review advocacy documents, including formal comment letters, policy briefs, and international agreements. 
  • Advise campaigns on compliance with regulatory requirements, including lobbying disclosure rules. 
  • Represent Oceana in strategic litigation and advocacy with outside decision makers.
• Act as liaison among Oceana’s Legal Department, international offices, and outside counsel to ensure coordinated global legal strategies.
• Prepare quarterly litigation and strategic legal initiative reports for the Board. 
• Manage Legal Department interns and fellows, including supervision, mentoring, and recruitment.
• Perform administrative tasks necessary to support the Department and global program staff.

Job Requirements 

Education and work experience: 

• Juris Doctor(JD)
• Must be a member of good standing in a state bar association 
• Minimum of three years of legal experience related to environmental law, administrative law, international law, or litigation.

Skills and knowledge: 

• Expertise in administrative law, environmental law, litigation, and/or international legal frameworks
• Strong organizational skills and ability to take initiative in developing creative legal strategies
• Computer literacy, particularly with Microsoft Office applications

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Bilingual or multilingual proficiency
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across cultures and jurisdictions

Required Competencies: 

• Action-oriented: Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy and enthusiasm.
• Instills Trust: Gains the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Communicate effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Manages Complexity: Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Adaptability: Adapting approach and demeanor in real-time to match the shifting demands of different situations.
• Optimizes Work Processes: Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Global Perspective: Takes a broad view of issues and challenges and can see them in global contexts.

Oceana values a diverse workforce and welcomes people different from each other in many ways, including characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, and national origin. Oceana considers all qualified candidates and seeks to recruit from a diverse candidate pool. 

This position is based in Portland, Oregon or Washington, D.C. Oceana's US offices operate on a hybrid schedule and staff are required to work from their assigned office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. With an agreement between the employee and their supervisor, the employee may work from home Monday and Friday.  

The salary range for this position is $110,000 to $120,000 annually. 

Please apply by February 6, 2026.