Application Guide
How to Apply for Senior Attorney, Louisiana Clean Affordable Power
at Environmental Defense Fund
🏢 About Environmental Defense Fund
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) uniquely combines strategic regulatory advocacy with litigation to drive clean energy progress at scale, focusing on accelerating deployment rather than just raising awareness. Their approach integrates legal expertise with community partnerships and environmental justice considerations, making them a powerful force in shaping energy policy through both administrative proceedings and courtrooms.
About This Role
This Senior Attorney will lead EDF's legal and regulatory advocacy specifically in Louisiana, representing the organization before the Louisiana Public Service Commission and MISO to advance clean energy priorities. The role involves developing litigation filings, administrative comments, and building strategic relationships with environmental justice organizations, directly impacting how Louisiana addresses its energy challenges while balancing load growth and clean energy transition.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve drafting comments for an upcoming Louisiana Public Service Commission hearing on integrated resource planning while coordinating with technical experts on modeling assumptions, followed by a strategy call with Louisiana environmental justice partners about community concerns regarding transmission siting, and ending with reviewing MISO filings related to generator interconnection queues in the Louisiana zone.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Environmental Defense Fund Is Looking For
- Has 5+ years of professional experience with at least 3 years specifically practicing before the Louisiana Public Service Commission or MISO, demonstrating deep familiarity with their procedural rules and dockets
- Possesses an active Louisiana bar membership in good standing and can immediately engage in regulatory proceedings without waiting for admission
- Understands Louisiana's specific energy challenges like industrial load growth, grid reliability concerns, and the tension between fossil fuel interests and clean energy transition
- Has experience collaborating with environmental justice organizations and community groups in Louisiana's unique cultural and regulatory landscape
📝 Tips for Applying to Environmental Defense Fund
Explicitly quantify your experience with Louisiana Public Service Commission proceedings (e.g., 'represented clients in 8 LPSC dockets over 3 years, including Docket No. X on rate design')
Demonstrate specific knowledge of MISO's Louisiana-specific issues, such as transmission constraints in South Louisiana or MISO's long-range transmission planning in the region
Highlight any experience working with Louisiana environmental justice organizations like the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice or local community groups
Show how your legal strategy experience aligns with EDF's approach of combining regulatory advocacy with potential litigation
Include examples of translating complex energy regulations into persuasive arguments for administrative bodies and potentially courts
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Your direct experience with Louisiana Public Service Commission procedures and specific dockets you've worked on", "How you've previously balanced legal advocacy with community partnership building, especially with environmental justice organizations", "Your understanding of Louisiana's unique energy landscape including industrial decarbonization challenges and clean energy opportunities", 'Examples of developing successful regulatory strategies that advanced clean energy priorities in contested proceedings']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → EDF's recent interventions in Louisiana energy proceedings (check LPSC dockets and MISO filings from the past 2 years)
- → The organization's specific clean energy priorities for Louisiana mentioned in their reports or testimony
- → EDF's partnerships with Louisiana environmental justice organizations and how they frame their collaborative approach
- → How EDF's litigation strategy complements their regulatory advocacy in other states/regions
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Generic energy law experience without Louisiana-specific regulatory knowledge or LPSC/MISO familiarity
- Focusing only on litigation skills without demonstrating administrative law and regulatory advocacy experience
- Failing to acknowledge Louisiana's unique energy context (heavy industrial load, hurricane vulnerability, existing fossil infrastructure)
- Not showing awareness of environmental justice considerations specific to Louisiana communities
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Environmental Defense Fund!