Senior Counsel

Salary Range: $115,000 or commensurate with experience

Senior Counsel Position at Oceana, Washington D.C.

Do you want to make a difference protecting and restoring the abundance of the oceans? Oceana seeks a Senior Counsel to provide legal support for the advocacy campaigns run out of the Washington, D.C., office. The Senior Counsel will also advise the campaigns on legal compliance and risk mitigation and assist in the administration of the Law Department. The Senior Counsel may also engage in special projects, including researching new campaign issues or geographic areas; providing legal support to campaigns run by other Oceana offices around the world; assisting in defending Oceana against legal claims brought by outside parties; and performing other tasks managed by the Law Department as needed.

This position requires someone with strong organizational skills, well-developed written and oral communication skills, and the ability to take initiative and be creative in suggesting and implementing ways to accomplish Oceana’s goals.

Strong candidates for this position will have a Juris Doctor, must be or able to become a member of good standing in the District of Columbia Bar, and have a minimum of five years legal experience related to the principal duties and essential functions. The Senior Counsel reports to the Assistant General Counsel. This position is full-time (40 hours/week) and based in Washington, DC.

Come join a dedicated team of professionals who are working to protect our oceans and marine wildlife while also enhancing the capacity of the oceans to feed a growing world population. Oceana’s in-house Legal Department supports Oceana’s campaigns, which focus on reducing ocean plastics, promoting responsible fishing; stopping illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; protecting at-risk marine species, such as the North Atlantic right whale and sharks; advocating for clean offshore energy; and fighting the expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling.

Founded in 2001, Oceana is the world’s largest ocean advocacy organization focused solely on restoring the resilience, diversity, and abundance of marine ecosystems to ensure that our oceans are a significant source of wild-caught fish that can help feed the world. We achieve measurable change by conducting specific, science-based campaigns with fixed deadlines and articulated goals. Our campaigns extend to countries that, combined, govern nearly one-third of the world’s wild-caught fish, including Belize, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the 27 countries in the European Union.

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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.

Note: Oceana requires all employees to provide proof of vaccination against Covid. Accommodation for new hires who have disabilities that make the vaccine medically inadvisable or those who have a sincere religious belief that the vaccine is impermissible may contact [email protected]. Accommodation will be provided only as required by applicable law.

Oceana’s US offices have operated on a hybrid schedule, and staff have been required to work from their assigned office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. With agreement between the employee and their supervisor, the employee may work from home Monday and Friday. Oceana continually evaluates safety protocols and updates our practices on an ongoing basis based on the CDC community level color coding system of green, yellow, and red.