California Land Use, Environmental & Energy Associate Attorney - Midlevel

Perkins Coie LLP, consistently recognized as one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” and recently named “Law Firm of the Year” in Natural Resources Law by Best Lawyers, is seeking an associate to join our Chambers-ranked California team.

Our group sits at the intersection of urban development and the energy transition. We represent the innovators shaping California’s future—from the developers of its largest mixed-use communities to the key players in energy and infrastructure development. We work with regulators and legislators to help shape policy that facilitates California’s ability to meet its increasing housing, energy, and infrastructure needs.

Recent Noteworthy Experience

Our team manages a sophisticated pipeline of high-impact land use and urban development projects throughout California, including:

• R&D Hubs: Securing entitlements for over 2 million square feet of biomedical and R&D campuses.
• Urban Redevelopment: Advising on high-profile mixed-use development projects, including the Candlestick Point and Hunters Point redevelopment—one of the largest in SF history—entitling over 10,000 residential units.
• Housing Innovation: Developing streamlining strategies and leveraging housing laws to fast-track thousands of residential units.
• Data Centers & Digital Infrastructure: Providing comprehensive, counsel to the data center and digital infrastructure industry, including real estate, land use, environmental, interconnection, and other transactional matters.
• Utility-Scale Renewables and Transmission: Securing entitlements for thousands of megawatts of large-scale wind, solar, and battery energy storage system (BESS), and transmission facilities throughout California, and defending those entitlements in related litigation in California and federal courts.
• Decommissioning: Serving as counsel on land use, natural resource, and entitlement issues related to the decommissioning of energy and infrastructure projects, including the landmark Klamath dam removal project along the California and Oregon border.

The Role

We are looking for an associate in at least the third year of their practice in some or all of the following areas:

• California Planning & Zoning: Representing applicants through the entitlement process for large-scale residential, commercial, and renewable energy projects.
• State Housing Law: Experience navigating California’s evolving housing legislation—such as the Density Bonus Law, SB 330 (Housing Crisis Act), the Housing Accountability Act, and Builder’s Remedy—to streamline entitlements for high-density residential and mixed-use projects.
• CEQA/NEPA: Advising on environmental review strategies and reviewing environmental documents with an eye toward streamlining and defensibility.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Proficiency in relevant statutes, including the Subdivision Map Act, the Porter-Cologne Act, the Clean Water Act, the federal and California Endangered Species Act, among others.
• Transactions: Handling transactional documents, including development agreements, leases, easements, and utility interconnections.
• Litigation: Representing clients in the defense of entitlements in California and federal courts.

Qualifications

• Experience: 3+ years of California land use or environmental/energy law experience.
• Credentials: Excellent academic record and a JD from an accredited law school.
• Bar Admission: Active member in good standing with the California State Bar.

Excellent academic credentials are required.  To apply, please access the link below and attach your cover letter, resume, and law school transcript.

This position is eligible for an annual discretionary bonus, 401(k) plan, medical, dental, and vision insurance, personal medical and parental leave, up to ten paid Holidays, and family care benefits. More information regarding benefits and programs may be found here

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.

Compensation range: $260,000 to $390,000 annually. Compensation depends on qualifications and experience.

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