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Junior Associate, Ocean Rights Department
The Junior Associate will support OVL’s Ocean Rights Department — The place to work if you have interest in Ocean law and policy and Rights of Nature. We are the leading experts in, and spearheading, the Ocean Rights Movement internationally. This is an excellent opportunity for a recent law graduate or early-career professional to gain hands-on experience in international environmental law, Rights of Nature and Ocean governance. Due to our developing needs, we are seeking a bilingual candidate (English and Spanish). This position, and the nature of our structure at OVL, also requires and includes close collaboration and shared projects with our Ocean Guardianship and Ocean Litigation departments. The Junior Associate will assist in tasks including, but not limited to:
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Legal research, drafting and analysis: Conduct comparative legal research on Rights of Nature, Ocean governance, human rights and customary law. Support drafting legal briefs, policy papers, case analyses and comment letter submissions. Assist in preparing model laws, agreements and blueprints for Ocean Rights and Guardianship frameworks.
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Advocacy and program support: Manage the Ocean Rights Movement, maintain its policy tracker, and help coordinate Movement newsletters, communications and advocacy. Support in drafting toolkits, fact sheets, position statements and legal recommendations. Organising and coordinating events and workshops with partners. Design and create social media campaigns on Canva.
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Support OVL’s Ocean Literacy work: Produce blog posts, publications and presentations/trainings. Translating cases, toolkits and outreach materials as needed from English to Spanish and vice versa.
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Fundraising and client acquisition support: Support fundraising research, development of project briefs and drafting of fundraising proposals. Bring your innovation, new ideas and projects to the firm.
BENEFITS
Ocean Vision Legal is a young start-up working with NGOs in the field of public interest focused on environmental protection. Our salaries are reflective of this context, but we believe in compensating our team members additionally in other valuable ways. We offer:
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A 4-day working week, with flexible hours and locations to support healthy work–life balance
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Perks and benefits that support both physical and mental well-being
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An extra budget for personal office equipment, so everyone can create their best workspace
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A high level of care for our team, fostering a supportive and inclusive spirit
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A non-hierarchical structure that values every voice equally
These benefits give our team more time for family, rest, and personal pursuits, while contributing to work that creates meaningful impact for the Ocean.
positions & salaries
Junior Associates (1-2 years experience): For early-career fully qualified lawyers or legal experts (relevant degrees in law), who will perform their responsibilities under the supervision of a Senior Associate or Counsel with more experience. Junior Associates are typically tasked with legal research that can feed into a bigger project, and their work will be reviewed with feedback. Salaries start from EUR 54.000 per year and are increasing regularly throughout your time at OVL.
Associates (2-4 years experience): Associates have a few years more of experience and typically can be responsible for slightly bigger parts of legal assessments and research. They are under supervision of a Senior Associate or Counsel with more experience. They may attend clients meetings and can be tasked with giving presentations. Salaries start from EUR 62.000 per year and are increasing regularly throughout your time at OVL.
Senior Associates (4-6 years experience): Senior Associates often take on more leadership responsibilities and start providing for bigger parts of legal assessments or even take on smaller legal assessments on their own. They can supervise Junior Associates and are under the supervision of a Counsel. After six years of credited practice, associates are eligible for promotion to counsel. They can be tasked with writing emails to clients, if instructed to do so by the supervisor and attend meetings. Salaries start from EUR 70.000 per year and are increasing regularly throughout your time at OVL.
Legal Counsel (6-8 years experience): Legal Counsels are responsible for their own cases and additionally to their legal tasks performs managerial and business development responsibilities within OVL. They not only provide their legal expertise but also help OVL to grow as a law firm. They work directly under a Senior Legal Counsel or the CEO. Salaries start from EUR 83.000 per year and are increasing regularly throughout your time at OVL.
Senior Counsel (8 years experience or more): Senior Legal Counsels are the highest position in OVL and given full trust. They have freedom to address clients, reach out to funders and make decisions on their own. They are only supervised by the CEO. Salaries start from EUR 94.000 per year and are increasing regularly throughout your time at OVL.
