Special Counsel – NSW

The Environmental Defenders Office is seeking a full-time Special Counsel in Sydney, NSW, to lead litigation and provide legal advice on climate change and environmental protection. Candidates should have a minimum of 6 years' litigation experience, preferably in environmental law. The role involves mentoring junior staff and engaging in policy reform. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority are encouraged to apply.
Special Counsel – NSW
• Location: Gadi/Sydney CBD
• Term: ongoing
• Job Type: Full-time 37.5 hours per week
• Remuneration: SCHADS Level 6-8: $113k-133k + 11.5% super + 17.5% Annual Leave Loading
• Travel will be required at times to fulfill this role
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority* are particularly encouraged to apply.

Job title: Special Counsel – NSW

Reporting to: Managing Lawyer NSW/ACT

Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia Pacific, dedicated to protecting our climate, communities and shared environment by providing access to justice, running ground-breaking litigation and leading law reform advocacy.

As the region’s legal experts in our field, we aim to be a brave, unified, and focused team, committed to inclusion and excellence in all that we do. We strive to be a diverse and inclusive workplace supporting a highly skilled, engaged, and effective team, where everyone can feel that they belong.

We are recruiting for a Special Counsel to join our NSW team to champion its safe climate practice.

The opportunity:

This is an opportunity to use your legal skills to help deliver a world where nature thrives.

We seek an experienced litigator to work with clients to protect our climate, communities and shared environment by providing access to justice, running ground-breaking litigation, and leading law reform advocacy.

The Special Counsel will engage with legal issues surrounding climate change, biodiversity and environmental protection in New South Wales. In this role you will think creatively about using the law to deliver systemic change, chiefly in relation to climate change.

The role will primarily involve leading litigation and related advice with junior staff. It will also include non-litigious advice work and engaging in policy and law reform.

Candidate Profile:

You will have an unrestricted practising certificate, and strong PAE working as a lawyer with demonstrated litigation experience – preferably in environmental matters. You will be passionate about helping lead EDO’s safe climate and biodiversity work and excel at working with a high level of autonomy within a collaborative team environment. You think outside the box and want a chance to be creative about delivering systemic change in the fields of climate change, human rights, biodiversity and the environment. You also enjoy supervising and mentoring legal staff, and seeing their expertise grow to benefit the team and our work.

EDO is a diverse and inclusive workplace. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority* are particularly encouraged to apply.

Key selection criteria:

Essential requirements
• An unrestricted practicing certificate or entitlement to one
• A minimum of 6 years PAE working as a solicitor with litigation experience, 8 + years PAE highly desirable

Substantive experience
• Demonstrated experience leading litigation in environmental, administrative and/or human rights or related disciplines
• Demonstrated experience in administrative and/or environmental law highly desirable
• Experience undertaking law reform or policy desirable
• Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring and contributing to the professional development of legal and non-legal staff
• Demonstrated experience working with diverse communities and individuals, including First Nations, desirable

Core skills
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to confidently exercise sound judgement and make decisions in high-pressure scenarios, based on consideration of different views
• Demonstrated ability to work productively autonomously, within a collaborative team environment, and to deadlines
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills suited to a range of audiences
• Excellent file management and delegation skills
• Ability to represent EDO in the media

Personal qualities and cultural competency
• A champion of the EDO values
• Strong initiative and self-motivation
• Commitment to the protection of the environment and related human rights
• Acts with the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour and obligations
• Demonstrated awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs and concerns of First Nations peoples and peoples from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations in both the delivery of our work and our internal culture
• Thrive in a collaborative team-based environment

Our Culture and Benefits:   
• We care deeply about creating a workplace where our team members feel valued, respected, and empowered. We are committed to providing equal opportunity regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or life stage. 
• The chance to be part of the largest environmental legal practice in the Australia-Pacific 
• A very flexible and family-friendly workplace 
• While primarily office-based, some flexibility to work from home
• 8 weeks paid parental leave, regardless of gender or carer status
• 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave per year
• 3 days paid cultural leave per year
• Extra leave over the Christmas period
• Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Ongoing professional development opportunities 
• EDO proudly has a JEDI (Justice, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee and a Mental Health Ambassador Committee, and has developed a First Nations Program with the aid of indigenous-led consultancies. 
• Three Affinity groups for the following: Disability, Global Majority* and LGBTQIA+
• Global Majority is a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called, to think of themselves as belonging to the majority on planet earth. It refers to people who are Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or, have been racialised as ‘ethnic minorities’.

Our Values

Commitment – We are committed to a united organisation, to each other, to collaboration, to justice, to our communities and to creating a world where nature thrives.

Diversity – We are respectful of, and welcome, diversity of staff, volunteers, offices, environmental regions, communities, stakeholders.

Integrity – We work effectively, efficiently, strategically, professionally, and ethically; “justice is in our nature”.

Vision – We lead change and environmental empowerment using innovation, creativity, and courage.

How to Apply
• Click ‘Apply here’ above
• To review the position description, please see this link: https://www.edo.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/EDO-Position-Description-Special-Counsel-February-2025.pdf

If you have queries in regard to this advert, please feel free to contact us at recruitment@edo.org.au

Applications close on 10 March 2025.

Applications must include a CV and a letter that clearly addresses each of the selection criteria above.

The Key Selection Criteria show the minimum essential requirements of the position. The desirable criteria outline additional attributes which would enable the successful candidate to perform the role more effectively; they are not essential but may be used to distinguish between applicants during the shortlisting process.

EDO particularly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Pacific Island people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, workers of all ages, people with disabilities and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Please note: Your application may be considered for future roles at the EDO within the next 12 months without additional advertising. Please notify us in your application if you would not like to be considered for similar roles beyond this recruitment.

If you have any accessibility needs for the recruitment or interviewing process, please let us know in your application or by emailing recruitment@edo.org.au.

Vaccination Requirements

EDO is not issuing a vaccination mandate. EDO staff have the option to share vaccination details within the EDO HRIS system, EDO will maintain this record of vaccination status of EDO employees, however if staff do not wish to disclose this information, it will not be enforced.

Working with clients face-to-face:
• EDO works with diverse peoples and groups across the Australian and Pacific communities, including people who are considered a high-risk group in terms of COVID-19.
• In order to ensure the safety of all EDO employees and the people we work with and around, staff visiting overburdened communities are required to take a COVID-19 test three (3) days prior and on the day of travel to the overburdened community.

Other Information

All offers of employment may be subject to satisfactory background checks including a National Police Check, disclosure of previous or current disciplinary action, referee checks, proof of eligibility to work in Australia and qualification checks.