Please note the following consultancy opportunities are not ClientEarth contracted roles but consultancy contracts.

コンサルタント弁護士募集 / Expressions of interest: Consultant Lawyer(s)

Objective: Ippan Shadan Hojin ClientEarth is expanding its work in Japan and is seeking two to three Japanese-speaking legal experts in corporate law, securities law, energy regulation, and/or environmental law to provide us with independent legal research, analysis, and advisory services under a legal services provider agreement. 

Each Consultant Lawyer will be involved in activities such as conducting analysis and preparation of briefs, memoranda and other required research on legal, regulatory and policy issues to accelerate towards the net zero target set by the Japanese government. 

Location: Services may be provided remotely. Attendance at meetings or events may be requested where reasonably necessary and agreed in advance Preference for Japan-located (can discuss international location).  

Expected level of input: The expected level of input is estimated at approximately 50–100 hours per month. The Consultant Lawyer will determine the time and manner of performing the services, subject to agreed deliverables and deadlines. 

Type and duration of contract: The engagement is expected to be under a legal services provider agreement for an initial period of 6 or 12 months. The Consultant Lawyer is free to provide services to other clients, subject to confidentiality, conflicts and professional obligations. 

Preferred starting date:  From 1 September 2026 – can be discussed based on constraints of successful applicants 

Closing date: 20 August 2026 23:59 JST  

About ClientEarth  

This is a great opportunity for an energy, environmental, corporate, financial and / or litigation Japan-legal expert with interest in energy and / or environmental law, policy and regulation to contribute to the work of ClientEarth in Japan. The Consultant Lawyer will principally work with the Tokyo office and may be involved in work straddling different offices. The Consultant Lawyer will participate in using the law creatively and effectively to protect people and the planet. 

ClientEarth is a group of international legal experts on climate, energy and the environment. We use the law to address climate change, capture the opportunities of the low carbon transition and protect nature. ClientEarth is bringing together legal experts with backgrounds in energy, corporate, financial and environmental law, as well as other professionals with backgrounds in climate change and communications. 

We have built a global team of energy, corporate and financial law experts specialising in climate risk and decarbonisation across eight offices in Europe, China and the United States – providing the legal framework and tools for the private sector to lead on climate action. We are helping to strengthen corporate climate governance and embed climate change in investment, regulatory and policy decisions around the world. 

Ippan Shadan Hojin ClientEarth is firmly embedded within Japan’s social, political, economic and cultural context. We use the law to support accelerated government and private sector leadership on climate change.  

Scope of Services 

We are looking for Consultant Lawyers able to contribute to at least one of the following: 

  • Energy regulatory workstreams (including regulatory bottlenecks to increased renewables in the grid, LTDA, grid planning, etc.)  

  • Corporate and financial workstreams (including transition finance, transition planning, fiduciary duties of directors and investors, shareholder rights, corporate governance code) 

  • Carbon markets and carbon prices (including GX ETS, JCMs, Fossil fuel levy) 

Deliverables will include:  

  • Provide legal research, analysis, and recommendations to support ClientEarth’s consideration of strategic options to increase climate ambition and accelerate the energy transition:  

  • Participate in legal capacity building on energy and environmental law, policy and regulation as it applies to climate change (e.g. presentations, training sessions, workshops in collaboration with ClientEarth staff). 

  • Working with ClientEarth’s communications team to produce written and oral communication for a wide variety of legal, business, financial, policy, political, civil society groups and interdisciplinary audiences 

  • Work with corporate and financial sectors and alongside ClientEarth staff, external stakeholders such as corporates, investors, government, think tanks, and civil society organisations to accelerate Japan’s transition to a net zero economy and strengthen Japan’s climate and environmental policy. 

  • Identifying opportunities and recommending strategies for using energy, environmental, corporate and financial law and regulation to drive climate ambition and action and accelerate the net zero transition in Japan and across Asia, including working with local counsel and experts. 

  • Alongside ClientEarth staff, occasionally providing expert input at formal and informal forums and groups, and conveying ClientEarth’s thinking and work.  

Education and training 

  • Law degree (essential), post graduate degree in commercial, environmental or climate field (desirable) 

  • Experience as a Japan trained legal expert / lawyer (essential)  

  • Law license in Japan or another jurisdiction (desirable) 

  • Experience or knowledge of corporate law, securities law and other commercial laws and their intersection with climate, environment, energy issues in Japan, including recent developments and trends regarding ESG / sustainability (desirable) and/or experience or knowledge of energy regulation and/or energy project development (desirable) and/or domestic or foreign carbon markets and carbon pricing mechanisms (desirable) 

  • Experience engaging at different levels (national, local) with different groups of stakeholders (civil society organisations, think tanks, government and/or the private sector) (desirable) 

  • Knowledge of formal and informal relationships, working practices etc. regarding business and financial regulators, institutions, markets and transactions in Japan (desirable)   

  • Exposure to domestic and/or international frameworks in relation to climate or nature (desirable) 

Key Competencies 

  • Fluent (CEFR level C2) in Japanese and conversational in English (B2) 

  • Excellent legal research, analysis, writing, advisory and advocacy skills 

  • Confident working with and analysing complex technical, scientific, political and legal material 

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills to influence external audiences, adapting communication style to specific audiences such as government, industry and civil society 

  • Able to grasp new concepts and relevant laws quickly  

  • An openness to learning and developing new ideas 

  • Willing to work with multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual and multicultural environment  

Remuneration 

To be decided based on experience and qualification and pro-rated based on agreed number of hours per month. Fees will be paid against monthly invoices for services performed and/or deliverables accepted under the services agreement.  The Consultant Lawyer and ClientEarth will agree on a minimum number of hours per month (ideally 50 or more) and an applicable hourly rate. As an illustration, the remuneration for 80 hours per month is expected to be in a bracket of JPY 650,000 to JPY 780,000 JPY, with the higher part of the bracket applicable to lawyers with significant relevant expertise.  

Each Consultant Lawyer shall pay all their own applicable taxes. Payment to be made from Tokyo office for Japan-based consultant.  

Application procedure

Send to rsoffer@clientearth.org by 20 August 2026 23:59 JST: a curriculum vitae detailing your relevant experience to demonstrate suitability for the position (mandatory) and a 1-page cover letter (optional but appreciated). Please include at least two relevant written samples of past work in your submission. If co-authored, please describe your contribution to the written output.    

Please note that applications will be reviewed as soon as they are received and interviews, if deemed necessary, will take place as soon as possible after receipt of applications.   

Legal Consultant: Land classification and zoning policies and regulations in the Philippines 

1. Background and Context 

ClientEarth is supporting efforts to strengthen environmental and forest governance in watershed areas in the Philippines, particularly in areas where watershed management intersects with forest conservation, rehabilitation, and energy infrastructure. As part of this work, we are assessing the legal and policy frameworks governing these areas, including their implications for forests, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC), and the development and operation of grid and renewable energy infrastructure.  

We are seeking a Philippine lawyer with expertise in the legal and regulatory frameworks governing watershed management, forest management, and tree-cutting to assess the existing rules and practices for tree-cutting and forest rehabilitation in watershed areas. The analysis will consider how these rules can better support infrastructure development while maintaining appropriate safeguards for forest conservation and the rights and interests of IPLCs, including through improved approaches to tree replacement and rehabilitation.  

The consultant will work closely with ClientEarth’s Forest Governance lawyers 

2. Objectives and Scope of Work 

The consultancy will support a project aimed at developing policy and legal analysis on reforestation projects in watersheds, specifically to analyse forest governance and land use regulation. The analysis will focus on (a) improving the current forest land classification and zoning system, including permitting processes for infrastructure in watershed reservations; (b) developing model policies for sustainable land use planning and balancing development and conservation objectives. The analysis will also include one or two case studies agreed with the team.  

3. Key Deliverables and Timeline 

Deliverables:  

  • One legal and policy analysis identifying gaps in the current forest land classification and zoning system within watershed reservations and recommendations to improve policies and protocols on land utilisation to enable more sustainable, inclusive, and conservation-oriented land use that reflects IPLC needs. The analysis will be informed by one or two case studies on watersheds reservations agreed with the team.  

  • Coordination meetings with IPLCs organisations and other relevant stakeholders, as needed.  

  • One or two travels to selected watershed areas.  

Timeline: Q3 – Q4 2026.  

4. Consultant Qualifications 

Philippine lawyer with expertise in zoning and land classification under Philippine laws. Capacity: 320 hours across 4 months (September 2026 to December 2026).   

5. Remuneration 

Budget: total fees inclusive of taxes: £6,700.00. Travel costs to one or two watershed areas will be covered separately by ClientEarth and are not included in the consultancy fees. 

 

6. Applications  

Interested applicants are invited to submit: 

  • A cover letter describing their relevant experience and demonstrating suitability for the consultancy; 

  • An updated curriculum vitae; 

  • At least one relevant writing sample demonstrating experience in legal research, policy analysis, or regulatory drafting (where a writing sample has been co-authored, please describe your contribution to the written output).   

Applications should be submitted to arodriguez@clientearth.org by 26 August 2026. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and ClientEarth reserves the right to close the recruitment process once a suitable candidate has been identified. 

Legal Consultant: Watershed management in the Philippines 

1. Background and Context 

ClientEarth is supporting efforts to strengthen environmental and forest governance in watershed areas in the Philippines, particularly in areas where watershed management intersects with forest conservation, rehabilitation, and energy infrastructure. As part of this work, we are assessing the legal and policy frameworks governing these areas, including their implications for forests, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC), and the development and operation of grid and renewable energy infrastructure. 

We are seeking a Philippine lawyer with expertise in the legal and regulatory frameworks governing watershed management, forest management, and tree-cutting to assess the existing rules and practices for tree-cutting and forest rehabilitation in watershed areas. The analysis will consider how these rules can better support infrastructure development while maintaining appropriate safeguards for forest conservation and the rights and interests of IPLCs, including through improved approaches to tree replacement and rehabilitation. 

The consultant will work closely with ClientEarth’s Forest Governance lawyers.  

2. Objectives and Scope of Work 

The consultancy will support a project aimed at developing policy and legal analysis on reforestation projects in watersheds, specifically to: 

  • Clarify respective legal authorities: conduct a legal analysis of the respective mandates and authorities of relevant government agencies, Local Government Units (LGUs), and private landowners in managing watershed areas, including their respective roles and responsibilities in relation to forest management and land use. 

  • Identify best practices to incorporate Indigenous Peoples (IP’s) and community rights: particularly in relation to the Philippine regulatory context, contribute to and review ClientEarth’s legal and policy analysis, including international law and best practices on IP’s rights, with a focus on land governance and social safeguards in watershed projects.  

  • Reform tree-cutting and replacement policies: particularly in relation to the Philippine regulatory context, contribute to and review ClientEarth’s legal and policy analysis on strengthening existing tree replacement ratios and valuation methods, and benchmarking them with Philippine laws and international best practices 

3. Key Deliverables and Timeline 

  • Clarification of Legal Authorities 

  • Deliverables: One legal and policy analysis identifying legal and institutional gaps and providing recommendations to improve the clarity and coordination of watershed management responsibilities across different government bodies and private landowners. Coordination meetings with relevant stakeholders, as needed. 

  • Timeline: Q4 2026 – Q1 2027 

  • IPs and Community Rights 

  • Deliverables: One legal and policy analysis identifying recommendations to align watershed operations with IPLCs’ land tenure governance and rights as recognised in national and international laws, particularly when ancestral domains overlap with watershed reservations. Coordination meetings with IPLC organisations and other relevant stakeholders, as needed. 

  • Timeline: Q3 – Q4 2026 

  • Tree-Cutting and Replacement Policy Reform 

  • Deliverable: One legal and policy analysis identifying recommendations, in consultation with relevant government bodies, to strengthen existing tree-cutting and replacement policies through clearer and more science-based frameworks that appropriately balance ecological and social considerations, in line with Philippine law and international best practices. Coordination meetings with IPLC organisations and other relevant stakeholders, as needed. 

  • Timeline: Q3 – Q4 2026  

4. Consultant Qualifications 

Philippine lawyer with expertise in land use, forestry, tenurial rights governance and renewable energy. Capacity: 560 hours across 7 months (September 2026 to March 2027).  

 

5. Remuneration 

Budget: total fees inclusive of taxes: £11,725.00. 

 

6. Applications  

Interested applicants are invited to submit: 

  • A cover letter describing their relevant experience and demonstrating suitability for the consultancy; 

  • An updated curriculum vitae; 

  • At least one relevant writing sample demonstrating experience in legal research, policy analysis, or regulatory drafting (where a writing sample has been co-authored, please describe your contribution to the written output).   

Applications should be submitted to arodriguez@clientearth.org by 26 August 2026. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and ClientEarth reserves the right to close the recruitment process once a suitable candidate has been identified.