Volunteer Legal Assistant for The Nature Conservancy

Volunteer Legal Assistant

Description of Organization’s Work: The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

The Nature Conservancy is currently seeking two Spanish- and/or Portuguese-speaking undergraduate or graduate students with at least two years of college education for its Legal Volunteer Program. Volunteer Legal Assistants will work in The Nature Conservancy Worldwide Office Legal Department for the Fall semester, Spring semester, or the Summer. The unpaid positions are full- or part-time (minimum 20 hours per week) during the semester, and full-time (minimum 28 hours per week) during the summer. The Conservancy encourages students to work with their school programs to earn academic credit or develop research topics applicable to the Volunteer’s curriculum.

The Volunteers will be expected to work on one or two major projects, and to provide much of their own administrative support. This position entails working with the Legal Assistants and Legal Counsel supporting the Conservancy’s work in countries of the Caribbean and Latin America on a variety of projects, including research and writing on assigned topics. These projects will give Volunteers valuable experience in the work of a non-profit legal department including: computer research and memoranda writing. During this experience, Volunteers will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of environmental land protection abroad. Some research material and documentation may be in Spanish or Portuguese; therefore, a strong comprehension of the Spanish or Portuguese language is required.

Aside from the major projects, Volunteers will also work on short, unscheduled assignments. Generally, these assignments are the result of unanticipated issues that have arisen and need prompt attention. In such cases, the Volunteers may need to do some research into the problem and provide a short summary of the findings. Various administrative tasks will also be assigned, ranging from filing and copying to taking documents for authentication to various consulates and the State Department.

The Legal Volunteer Program provides valuable experience in many areas and can be an excellent foundation for future non-profit or legal work. The Legal Department at The Nature Conservancy offers a friendly and cooperative atmosphere in which to work. Volunteers will find that their supervisors and coworkers are accessible and helpful. Volunteers will have an opportunity to interact with staff supporting the Conservancy’s work in the Caribbean and Latin America on a daily basis and may find themselves working on projects for several of them before the semester or summer is over.

Applications are accepted year-round. Availability of Volunteer positions varies. To be considered for a Volunteer position, please send resume, cover letter, and brief writing sample as well in-advance as possible. The Conservancy is located in Arlington, Virginia, and is accessible by the Metro Orange line (Ballston stop) and several bus routes.

Please email a resume, cover letter and brief writing sample to: Amanda Sennert at asennert@tnc.org.