Senior Staff Attorney, Clean Energy & Project Finance

L4GG’s CCEJ Program mobilizes lawyers nationwide to combat the climate crisis and promote environmental justice. We use the law to implement and execute climate solutions equitably at federal, state, and local levels, with twin goals of expediting the country’s just transition to a green economy and directly addressing environmental racism. We do this by:

• advocating for federal agencies to address climate change and equity through their climate and infrastructure program funding
• assisting state and local governments with creating and implementing laws and policies
• providing low-income cities and communities most harmed by discriminatory environmental practices with high quality, pro bono legal representation.

Over the past two years, the CCEJ Program has become a key technical assistance provider to federal, state, and local leaders, nonprofit partners and frontline communities to help ensure the equitable distribution of historic federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and other federal laws to expedite a just transition to a green economy. In 2023 alone, L4GG provided guidance to over 700 state and local decision makers, nonprofits and frontline communities regarding federal funding and programs and has become a thought leader and key technical assistance provider to the public sector writ large on IRA implementation, including in particular, tax incentives like elective pay. L4GG is regularly sought out by governor’s offices, local governments, thought leaders, and nonprofit partners to provide guidance on IRA implementation and is looking to expand its existing Clean Energy Clinic to provide additional guidance to the many public agencies and communities looking to finance clean energy projects under the IRA. L4GG is looking for a dynamic leader in the IRA space with expertise in administrative law, clean energy and/or tax policy to help manage this effort.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

L4GG is searching for a senior clean energy and project finance attorney to help expand our clean energy initiative, which includes leading the nationwide effort on the equitable implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act to expedite a just transition to the green economy. L4GG is perfectly positioned to help craft and frame the financial products that come out of the $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund by working directly with Solar for All recipients, green banks, and other CDFIs to craft the financial model that works with Elective Pay and maximizes the IRA. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be at the leading edge of public sector project finance and to be the linchpin in helping clean energy projects expand in communities.

This person would help manage assistance to hundreds of state agencies, local agencies, green banks, and CBOs looking to leverage the IRA by crafting creative and unique financial models and products that dovetail with Elective Pay.

Specific Job Responsibilities Include:

• Talking with green banks about crafting financial models that work well with elective pay
• Meeting with Treasury, Department of Energy, EPA, and other federal agencies to discuss how the various federal funding grants/loan programs can and should stack with Elective Pay, and guiding the clean energy team to craft good guidance on this for hundreds of cities, communities, nonprofits, rural co-ops, and Tribal governments to use to leverage the IRA.
• Reviewing/drafting public finance loan documents that would deploy Greenhouse Gas Reduction low-cost financing in conjunction with Elective Pay as repayment/collateral
• Presenting to hundreds of stakeholders on all three of the tasks above
• Working with the Director to envision the types of financial models that could expand and leverage the use of the IRA and other federal dollars
• Training other staff and stakeholders on the various public finance models and how they work with Elective Pay
• Researching/understanding/presenting on the various state financing opportunities and recommending ways to disseminate this information to help fund public clean energy projects in communities
• Cutting-edge public finance work with nonprofit partners like Capital Good Fund to maximize the impact of the IRA

REQUIREMENTS:

The ideal candidate will have top-notch interpersonal skills, experience working with state and local decision-makers, good judgment, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced environment. We seek someone who can work independently with a strong sense of urgency and take the initiative to identify and resolve challenges. This person will have the ability to identify creative public finance solutions to help finance clean energy and climate justice projects in distressed communities by leveraging the tools in the IRA and other historic federal funding.

Must have access to a quiet workspace (home office or other space) with high-speed internet and the ability to take calls and/or video conferences during working hours.

Required qualifications include:

• Education required: Law degree and 7+ years of experience in tax, public finance, finance, clean energy, regulatory, energy, and/or administrative law OR 4+ years specifically in public/project finance work
• Experience with the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act
• Commitment to equity and our organization’s mission
• Passion for tackling climate change and climate justice issues
• Ability to work autonomously as well as collaborate and work well with a team
• Exceptionally strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Comfortable working with and communicating with private sector attorneys and higher-level decision-makers at the federal, state, and local level
• Comfortable presenting technical legal issues to large audiences
• Proven ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously
• Consistent attention to detail
• Strong ability to prioritize, meet deadlines, and escalate issues to CCEJ Director as appropriate
• Experience using Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Mac computers
• Technology comfort and competence, including willingness to embrace new tools and self-train using provided resources as needed

Desired qualifications include:

• Direct experience with IRA implementation, in particular, the various programs under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
• Located in or around Washington DC with a willingness to travel to present on public policy
• Experience with any or all of the following digital tools: Asana, Airtable, Zoom