Current Job Opportunities at Friends
Summer Legal Intern
Hours: 22-29 hours per week
Status: Non-exempt
Location: Portland, OR metro area or Remote
Supervisor: Senior Staff Attorney
Salary: $21-$24 hourly
Start Date: May 2024
SUMMARY OF POSITION
Friends of the Columbia Gorge (Friends) is seeking a Legal Intern (or Extern) for Summer 2024. Among other tasks, the Legal Intern will advance Friends’ mission by performing legal research and writing in support of Friends’ litigation docket and development review program.
Friends’ legal program works to protect the Columbia River Gorge by vigorously enforcing the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act and other laws. These include state and federal laws governing land use, administrative procedures, open public meetings, energy facilities, forest practices, endangered species, pollution, and other subjects. Friends uses these laws to protect the scenic, natural, cultural, and recreation resources of the Gorge from urban sprawl, mining, clearcutting, industrial and commercial activities, and other uses.
Friends has an active litigation docket in both Oregon and Washington and at various administrative agencies. The Legal Intern will perform legal research and writing in support of these cases, review administrative records and land use applications, prepare comment letters, and perform other tasks as needed.
WINNING BEHAVIORS, COMPETENCIES, AND SKILLS
Education:
- Must be a law student at, or have recently graduated from, an accredited law school in the United States.
- Demonstrated commitment to environmental protection and public interest law
- Excellent academic credentials
- Excellent writing, research, and communication skills
- Well-organized and resourceful
- Collaborative, hard-working, and personable
Preferred:
- Knowledge of administrative, land use, and/or environmental law
- Law journal or clinical experience
- Science or engineering background, or comfort with numbers and quantitative analysis
- Familiarity with GIS
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Pay is $21.00 to $24.00 per hour, commensurate with experience. No benefits are included for part-time, temporary work.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
The Columbia Gorge has been home to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial, stewarding the land and waters of this region long before European colonization and the western idea of environmentalism. Friends is dedicated to ensuring the Columbia Gorge remains a place of wonder for generations to come. Whether it is the land, water, wildlife, people, Tribes, or communities, each is dependent upon the others for the Gorge to truly thrive. This is not possible without representing and engaging tribal as well as other diverse communities and individuals who share a connection to this special place.
Read our full DEIJ statement here.
EEO POLICY
Friends is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other protected status in accordance with local, state and federal law.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoffs, recalls, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Work environment includes desk work and using a computer extensively, lifting up to 20 pounds, and standing. If the compliance monitoring work is also done, the job will require driving and/or taking public transportation and walking on uneven surfaces.
ADA STATEMENT
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
APPLICATION
Please send cover letter, resume, and writing sample (combined into a single file) to jobs@gorgefriends.org with “Legal Intern” in the subject line. Deadline for submission is Wednesday, May 7, 2024.
About Friends of the Columbia Gorge
Ensuring the Gorge remains a vibrant, living place—wondrous, wild, and open to all—is at the core of what we do. Friends of the Columbia Gorge works to protect, preserve, and steward the Columbia Gorge for future generations.
We are the only conservation organization entirely dedicated to protecting and enhancing the scenic, natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the Columbia Gorge. For over four decades, we have successfully advocated to protect the Gorge from irresponsible development, purchased scenic and sensitive lands for long-term preservation, and worked with community partners to foster a larger culture of Gorge stewardship by connecting thousands of students and volunteers to the Gorge’s wonders.