NRDC seeks a Litigation Assistant to work in its Chicago office and on its Litigation Team. The Litigation Team is a group of approximately twenty-seven attorneys and six litigation assistants who work out of and collaborate across several NRDC offices. The Team pursues litigation across a broad range of environmental, public health, and environmental justice issues. In recent years, the Litigation Team has brought cases to safeguard the people of Flint, Michigan, from continued exposure to lead in drinking water; remediate toxic pollution in the Penobscot River; abate mold in New York City public housing for residents with asthma; protect the residents of Dickson, Tennessee, from TCE in groundwater and their homes; and defend California’s ivory ban to reduce the demand for elephant ivory. The Litigation Assistants provide administrative and litigation support for Litigation Team attorneys, and collaborate with the Litigation Assistants in the other offices that support branches of the Litigation Team.
Administrative support duties include:
- Processing invoices and expense reports, and maintaining detailed budget trackers
- Proofreading, formatting, copying, scanning, mailing, and faxing documents
- Assisting in hiring and orienting interns
- Scheduling meetings, booking travel, and organizing retreats
- Assisting other Litigation Team Assistants and office Program Assistants as needed
Litigation support duties include:
- Drafting and editing legal correspondence
- Preparing, proofreading, and fact-checking documents for court filings and assisting with filing and service
- Researching and summarizing court rules
- Maintaining extensive case files (electronic, hard copy, and archived off-site)
- Conducting factual research to advance existing and develop new cases
- Reviewing documents produced by other parties in litigation
- Interviewing NRDC members and drafting declarations related to pending litigation
- Bachelor’s degree required
- One year of previous administrative or paralegal experience (or equivalent) preferred
- Ability to perform or quickly learn tasks such as those listed above
- Ability to prioritize and efficiently execute multiple tasks, follow institutional procedures, and work independently with meticulous attention to detail
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Superior editing, research, and data synthesis skills
- Commitment to accuracy and rigor
- Ability to maintain composure and sense of humor under deadline pressure
- Willingness and flexibility to work overtime
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and work discreetly with sensitive information
- High proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook
- Minimum two-year commitment strongly preferred