Staff Attorney

Center for Food Safety (CFS) is seeking a relationship-driven fundraiser to grow our mid-level and major giving portfolio of individual donors, and to provide strategic support, execution, and project management for CFS's fundraising efforts.

The Development Manager will be an integral part of CFS's fundraising and cultivation efforts. The Manager is responsible for building and sustaining relationships with a portfolio of 25-30 new mid-level to major donors, prospects, and advisors through accurate data management, donor communications, and events coordination. The Development Manager will report directly to the Co-Executive Directors but also work closely with the Operations and Communications teams to develop and execute strategies for donor retention, engagement, and growth.

This position will be mostly remote, with regular in-person meetings with CFS leadership and donor events.

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 led the way in creating 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. And much more: Our groundbreaking legal cases, which protect pollinators, farmworkers, and farming communities, as well as 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.

What You Will Do

Center for Food Safety (CFS), one of the nation’s top food and environmental nonprofits, seeks a new Staff Attorney to join our team. The Staff Attorney should have at least five years of litigation experience, including clerkships and/or fellowships. CFS Staff Attorneys develop and prosecute precedent-setting cases in furtherance of CFS’s organizational mission and theory of change. The Attorney will participate in, and as appropriate, lead all phases of public interest high-impact litigation and administrative advocacy. CFS Staff Attorneys work with clients, allies, frontline communities, coalitions, and collaborative networks to apply and implement CFS campaigns. Staff Attorneys engage in public speaking and outreach. The Attorney will work on all CFS 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
  
  

Responsibilities

• Support litigation and advocacy developed by CFS’s Legal Team and Legal Director.
• Serve as lead counsel or co-counsel as appropriate in CFS cases.
• Fulfill the full range of litigation tasks, including factual investigation, legal research and analysis, discovery and record review, briefing, oral argument, appeals, amicus briefs, settlement, and fee recovery.
• Lead the factual development for and litigation of precedent-setting public interest cases, furthering CFS’s theory of change.
• Represent CFS and clients in state and federal rulemaking and agency engagement.
• Support and engage in federal and state legislative activities connected to CFS litigation and organizational mission.
• Work closely with other CFS attorneys, policy and communications staff, scientists, coalition partners and clients to build cases and support CFS policies and programs.
• Engage in public speaking, media, and outreach.
• Maintain and develop organizational partnerships with new clients, allies, and coalition partners to implement CFS's strategic litigation and organizational mission.
• Oversee fellows and law clerks and engage in recruitment efforts as appropriate.
  
  

Qualifications & Skills

• Law school graduate with at least 5 years of litigation experience, including clerkships or fellowships.
• Ability to independently manage a litigation docket.
• Excellent analytical, legal research, and writing skills.
• Excellent communication and public speaking skills.
• Oral argument experience.
• Self-motivation and willingness to do administrative tasks.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with others in a small, team-oriented environment.
• Strong work ethic, initiative, and creativity.
• Sensitivity to the concerns of and the ability to work with individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
• Admission to the California or Oregon bar or a willingness to be licensed in either state within one year (or bar admission in an existing remote location).
• A passion for enforcing and strengthening environmental laws.
• A passion for and/or a background in food and agriculture issues.
  
  

CFS is committed to providing equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or any other factor that is not related to the position. CFS is an equal opportunity employer and values a diverse and progressive workplace. 

Compensation And Benefits

CFS offers a competitive compensation package, a flexible and hybrid work environment, and a four-day “Flexible Fridays” work week. We also offer a discretionary annual bonus and employer 401(k) retirement plan contributions. Benefits include medical, vision, and dental insurance, disability insurance, pre-tax medical savings plan, and generous vacation and leave policies. As a 501(c)(3) organization, CFS is a qualifying employer for purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Salary depends on experience and location. Salary range in San Francisco Bay Area: $85,000-$130,000; Pacific Northwest: $75,000-110,000.

To Apply

Apply to [email protected]. Please state “Staff Attorney” in your email’s subject field. Candidates should include:

• A cover letter that explains why CFS’s mission and the role of this position are of interest to you, and how your experience fits CFS’s needs
• Resume or CV
• Law school transcript (official or unofficial)
• Contact information for three references
• Writing sample, which should be a legal brief or memorandum that is either unedited or only lightly edited by someone other than you. It should have an explanatory cover sheet that explains its context and the extent of any work done by others.
  
  

Include the (1) a cover letter, resume, transcript, and references in a single .pdf file, and (2) a writing sample in a separate file. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue on a rolling basis until the position is filled.