Lawyer, Accountable Corporations (0849)

We are seeking a German-qualified lawyer with a strong background in corporate or commercial law and experience in litigation to play a pivotal role in our Accountable Corporations team.

This is a unique opportunity to apply your legal expertise to tackle critical environmental challenges. Our team leverages corporate and financial laws to embed climate- and nature-related considerations into the decision-making processes of companies and key stakeholders within the corporate sector.

In this role, you will support and implement strategic legal initiatives, including litigation and advocacy, aimed at fostering a shift toward a cleaner, more sustainable, and resilient economic system that operates within planetary boundaries, ensures accountability for negative environmental externalities and prevents greenwashing.

Your primary focus will be on advancing our work in Germany, but there will also be opportunities to contribute to related efforts across other EU and European jurisdictions.

* The successful candidate’s final title will be agreed prior to a formal offer, and will depend on their professional qualifications and the applicable regulated titled allowed to be used in the relevant jurisdiction.

Meet your Manager

In this role, you will be managed by Jonathan White, our Legal Group Lead. Johnny joined ClientEarth in 2020 and is based in London. After a career as a disputes lawyer at the international law firm Clifford Chance, at ClientEarth Johnny has developed and implemented corporate accountability legal strategies, including on human rights and greenwashing litigation. He oversees the Accountable Corporations team's work.

In this role, you will be managed by Jonathan White, our Legal Group Lead. Johnny joined ClientEarth in 2020 and is based in London. After a career as a disputes lawyer at the international law firm Clifford Chance, at ClientEarth Johnny has developed and implemented corporate accountability legal strategies, including on human rights and greenwashing litigation. He oversees the Accountable Corporations team's work.

Main Duties

• Contributing to the strategic direction of work to hold corporates to account in Germany and other focus countries and further planning, developing and implementing the strategy in line with ClientEarth’s global and regional priorities and ClientEarth’s decision-making procedures;
• Contributing to the selection, development, and management of litigation and other legal interventions and managing cases including providing high quality legal input e.g. for court and regulatory submissions and legal letters;
• Undertaking advocacy with relevant stakeholders at the national and potentially regional level, including politicians, government advisers, private sector actors and NGOs and preparing consultation responses;

See the job description (below) for a full list of duties for this role.

Role requirements

• Fluent (CEFR level C2) in English
• Fluent (CEFR level C2) in German
• First and Second State Examinations
• Professional experience in private practice or a relevant in-house role with focus on environmental, corporate, commercial or corporate finance law in Germany
• Experience in managing commercial litigation or supporting strategic litigation

See the job description (below) for a full list of requirements for this role.

Note to candidates: We know that long lists of criteria can be daunting and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you feel you meet at least some of the essential criteria, we still encourage you to apply.

Further Information

Have a question about this job? Please visit our Careers site for advice on applying, FAQs, and more.

Flexible working: We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. Visit our Flexa Employer page for more information on our approach to flexible working. Our flexible working policy allows our people the choice to decide to work from home/another location in the country where their contract of employment is issued for 80% of their month, with the other 20% of their month being office-based See our Benefits page for more.

ClientEarth values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We aim to appoint the most suitable candidate at all times and welcome applications from people from all different backgrounds.

Please note that ClientEarth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in Germany.

ClientEarth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.