Lawyer*, Fundamental Rights (0952)

Job Description

This is an excellent opportunity for a Spanish-qualified lawyer to join ClientEarth’s Fundamental Rights team as we work to strengthen the legal protection of communities affected by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, and to ensure robust climate adaptation and resilience for all.

The main purpose of the role will be to apply fundamental rights law to protect health and well-being from heat stress which is the leading cause of weather-related deaths globally and in Spain, one of the European countries with the highest number of deaths attributable to heat (World Health Organisation). This will involve both implementation of existing climate adaptation laws and jurisprudence alongside development of new and innovative rights-based legal interventions to better address the health emergencies posed by extreme heat. More broadly, this work builds on previous rights-based climate and nature litigation by ClientEarth, including a third party intervention in the first climate case decided by the European Court of Human Rights, Verein Klimaseniorinnen and Others v Switzerland, and a recent win in Spain.

Meet your Manager

In this role, you will be managed by Vesselina Newman. Vesselina joined ClientEarth in 2020 and is based in London. Vesselina leads a team of currently two fundamental rights lawyers and with them develops and implements strategies for strengthening the protection of environmental human rights.

Main Duties

• Initiating and maintaining collaborative partnerships with other civil society organisations, local communities, external counsel, science and policy experts, journalists and others
• Analysing the relevant legal, policy, and political terrain and identifying opportunities for strategic and innovative legal interventions and preparing them for launch, such as litigation before national courts or complaints to international and regional human rights courts and bodies
• Keeping up-to-date on developments on the relationship between fundamental rights and climate and environmental law in Europe and beyond, and informing relevant colleagues

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 Spanish
• Law degree
• Qualification to practice law in Spain
• Experience of litigating fundamental rights cases in Spanish courts
• Experience of litigation before the European Court of Human Rights

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 as well as our flexible working FAQ.

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. See our equity, diversity and inclusion journey page for more.

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

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