Associate Attorney

## Who we are

Center for Food Safety (CFS)’s mission is to empower people, support farmers, and protect the Earth from the harmful impacts of industrial agriculture. We defend and promote your right to safe food and a clean environment through groundbreaking legal, scientific, and grassroots action.

For over 25 years, we have created a new food future, fostering a more powerful food movement against the harmful industrial agricultural system while promoting organic, ecological, and regenerative alternatives. We’ve won high-profile lawsuits to protect public health and endangered species from pesticides like Monsanto’s Roundup and dicamba. We prevented the introduction of genetically engineered wheat, rice, potatoes, and more to the market and secured meaningful labeling to ensure that we all know what’s in our food. We succeeded in instilling animal welfare requirements into the organic standards and protected the oceans from industrial aquaculture.

Our groundbreaking legal cases that protect pollinators, farmworkers, farming communities, and the Earth from the devastating impacts of industrial farming form a landmark body of case law on food and agricultural issues, transforming our food system.

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## About the role

Center for Food Safety (CFS), one of the nation’s top food and environmental nonprofits, seeks an Associate Attorney to join our team. The Associate Attorney position is a two-year role with the possibility of promotion and continuation with CFS.

Designed for attorneys in the early stages of their environmental or advocacy career, the Associate Attorney works with the CFS legal and policy team and participates in all phases of public interest impact litigation and administrative advocacy on a wide range of cutting-edge food and environmental issues. This work supports CFS’s overall mission and its program areas, including but not limited to:

– Consumer Advocacy
– Farmworker and Farmer Protection
– Food and Climate Change
– Food Labeling / Right to Know
– Genetically Engineered Organisms and Monocultures
– Industrial Animal Agriculture
– Industrial Aquaculture
– Pesticides & Other Toxins
– Pollinator & Wildlife Protection
– Public Health
– Regenerative Agriculture: Organic & Beyond

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## What you’ll do

– Work closely with CFS attorneys, policy and communications staff, scientists, coalition partners, and clients to build cases and support policies
– Participate in litigation and administrative advocacy, including factual investigation, legal research and analysis, negotiation, discovery and record review, briefing, and oral advocacy
– Represent CFS and clients in state and federal rulemaking and agency engagement
– Maintain and develop partnerships with clients, allies, and coalition partners
– Promote and educate the public and media on CFS issues
– Assist with hiring and supervising law clerks

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## Desired Qualifications and Skills

– Law school graduate with 1–3 years of legal experience (clerkship, administrative/environmental/animal law, or related area preferred)
– Admission to the California or Oregon bar, or willingness to become licensed within one year
– Passion for enforcing and strengthening environmental and food/ag laws
– Excellent legal research and writing skills
– Self-motivation and willingness to perform administrative tasks
– Ability to work collaboratively in a small, team-oriented environment
– Interest or background in food and agriculture issues is a plus

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## Compensation and Benefits

**Hybrid – San Francisco:** $85,000–$98,000 USD/year
**Hybrid – Portland:** $78,000–$89,000 USD/year

CFS offers a competitive compensation package, a flexible and hybrid work environment, and a four-day work week. Additional benefits include:

– Discretionary annual bonus
– Employer retirement plan contributions
– Medical, vision, and dental insurance
– Disability insurance
– Pre-tax medical savings plan
– Generous vacation and leave policies

As a 501(c)(3) organization, CFS is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.