What You Will Do
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or Laboratory) has an exciting opportunity for an experienced environmental attorney to join our legal Environment, Health, and Safety (ESH) group. At the Laboratory how we do our work is as important as what we do, and in the Office of General Counsel we think critically and proactively, placing open communication and trustworthy behavior at the forefront as we provide strategic guidance to decision-makers to manage institutional risk. The Laboratory is a remarkable place to continue to strengthen and develop as ESH counsel.
We provide legal advice and counsel on an extensive range of environmental compliance, litigation, and related matters. Our practice embraces a questioning attitude where learning never stops with a preventive law approach that seeks to anticipate and partner with our internal client representatives to understand and manage risks. Topics within our practice include:
- Institutional ESH matters (supporting the environmental management system, Prime Contract ESH reporting requirements)
- Air (including Clean Air Act and federal radiological standards and reporting)
- Cultural Resources Compliance (historic buildings, archaeological resources)
- Worker Health and Safety
- Nuclear Safety and Quality
- Waste (including transuranic, low-level, hazardous, and chemical waste)
- Biological Safety
- National Environmental Policy Act and Environmental Justice
- Stewardship (including forest health and wildland fire, land conveyance and transfer)
- Water (including industrial outfalls, stormwater, groundwater, water quality proceedings)
- Emerging Contaminants
- Biological Resources (endangered species, migratory birds, wildlife management)
- Natural Resources Damages Assessment
- Radiation Protection
- Interfacing with other federal, state, and contractor entities on ESH matters
In this position you will provide constructive and supportive legal counsel to LANL managers and employees, advising them regarding the legal aspects and consequences of proposed courses of action and identifying alternative courses of action to avoid or minimize legal difficulties while also facilitating mission accomplishment. Responsibilities include: drafting and reviewing legal documents, including settlements, permits, annual compliance reports, legal instruments, memoranda of law, legal opinions, proposed regulations, management directives and correspondence; supporting negotiations with outside entities and their attorneys, including litigants and agencies of various federal, state, tribal and local government agencies; and representing the Laboratory in ESH litigation, administrative permit and rulemaking hearings, enforcement actions, appeals and other legal proceedings.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
You will need to have broad, substantive knowledge and advanced experience in ESH law, including in one or more of the major federal or state environmental laws and experience with ESH regulatory authorities. You will also need the ability to work both independently and collaboratively, applying experience and expertise to solve a wide range of ESH issues.
Communication and Teamwork
Demonstrated ability to interact with all levels of staff and management, establishing productive working relationships, and providing constructive advice is vital. As important, you also need bring a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and be ready to make positive contributions to our excellent group.
Problem Solving and Sound Judgement
We need you to have experience conducting negotiations concerning environmental matters and demonstrated success in reaching settlement or resolution as well as demonstrated experience in providing advice and counsel on complex topics. You must be able to think critically and apply analytical skills to provide solutions to ESH and operational law problems in complex stakeholder situations.
Software
You will need the ability to work with legal research tools (e.g., Westlaw, Lexus), legal matter management and document systems such as eCounsel and M-Files, litigation databases (e.g., Relativity), and collaboration platforms (e.g., Teams, WebEx, GoogleDrive).
Education/Experience:
Position requires a Juris Doctorate Degree from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and an active Bar membership in good standing (any jurisdiction) and a minimum of 7 years of legal experience after passing the Bar and being admitted to practice. Experience at this or another Department of Energy facility in order to be equipped with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position is preferred. An ideal candidate will have work experience as an ESH attorney.
Desired Qualifications:
Federal or State Government-Related Experience
Experience relating to working with federal or state government, familiarity with Federally Funded
Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and/or federal Management and Operating Prime Contract experience is helpful but not required.
Litigation & Procedural Experience
It would be a plus if you had administrative litigation or other litigation experience, including administrative hearings and enforcement proceedings. Additionally, it would be beneficial if you were well versed in court and administrative procedural requirements and rules of procedure applicable to the environmental area.
RCRA Experience
Experience working with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or comparable state statute is desired. Advanced experience with RCRA permits for treatment and storage of hazardous waste, and associated permit renewals and amendments, including permit appeals processes at state and federal level is a plus, as is experience with generator requirements.
Position Commitment: Regular appointment employees are required to serve a period of continuous service in their current position in order to be eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the time required, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is one year.
Note to Applicants: A cover letter is required that demonstrates how you meet each of the minimum job requirements, discussing experience in desired skills, and identifying contributions you could make to the Office of General Counsel. Writing samples that demonstrate the ability to perform legal research and written advocacy with application materials should be provided.
Work Location: The work location for this position is onsite in Los Alamos, NM or Santa Fe, NM with the potential for Hybrid. Hybrid is defined as working partially onsite/partially offsite but within 2 hours ground commute of this location. Work locations are at the discretion of Laboratory management and are subject to change based upon operational need.
Where You Will Work
Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, LANL is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:
- PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network
- Dental and vision insurance
- Free basic life and disability insurance
- Paid childbirth and parental leave
- Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
- Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
- Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)
- Onsite gyms and wellness programs
- Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)
Additional Details
Directive 206.2 – Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2 . Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.
Clearance: Q (Position will be cleared to this level). Selected applicants will be subject to a background investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government, and must meet eligibility requirements* for access to classified matter. This position requires a Q clearance. and obtaining such clearance requires US Citizenship except in extremely rare circumstances. Dependent upon the position, additional authorization to access classified information may be required, which may or may not be available to dual citizens. Receipt of a Q clearance and additional access authorization ultimately is a decision of the Federal Government and not of Triad.
*Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE Order 472.2 for additional information.
New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.
Regular position: Term status Laboratory employees applying for regular-status positions are converted to regular status.
Internal Applicants: Regular appointment employees who have served the required period of continuous service in their current position are eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the required period of continuous service, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. Please refer to Policy Policy P701 for applicant eligibility requirements.
Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or preference, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call 1-505-665-4444 option 1.Employment StatusFull TimeAppointment TypeRegularRegular