Counsel, Litigation and Regulatory Affairs

Counsel, Litigation and Regulatory Affairs

In Person

Washington, DC

LIBERTY SEEDS

Washington, DC
· Posted August 3, 2026

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a nonprofit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty. CEI employs a full-service approach to policy change that includes litigation and legal advocacy, original research, communications campaigns, and direct engagement with policymakers. We work to reform America's unaccountable regulatory state, protect property rights, and remove unnecessary government barriers to innovation and prosperity.

Position Summary

CEI seeks an experienced litigator to serve as Counsel for Litigation and Regulatory Affairs. This position is designed for an attorney who can assume substantial responsibility immediately: independently evaluate potential cases, develop litigation strategy, draft and review court filings, manage discovery and administrative records, and drive matters forward from inception through resolution with limited day-to-day supervision. Think tank or non-profit experience is a plus.

The Counsel will report to the General Counsel and work closely with Senior Counsel, Associate Counsel, CEI policy experts, and outside counsel. The role is senior to CEI’s Associate Counsel position but does not carry the department-wide management, supervisory, or acting-lead responsibilities assigned to Senior Counsel. The successful candidate will exercise mature legal judgment, communicate directly with clients and litigation partners, and help translate CEI’s policy expertise into disciplined, high-quality legal advocacy.

The Counsel will be based in CEI’s Washington, DC office.

Key Responsibilities

Litigation and Case Management

• Take principal working responsibility for assigned federal and state litigation, including constitutional, administrative-law, statutory, and economic-liberty matters.
• Investigate facts and legal theories; assess standing, jurisdiction, causes of action, remedies, procedural posture, evidentiary needs, and litigation risk.
• Draft and revise complaints, petitions for review, motions, briefs, declarations, discovery requests and responses, administrative-record materials, settlement documents, and appellate filings.
• Manage assigned matters from pre-suit analysis through discovery, dispositive motions, trial or merits proceedings, appeal, and resolution, in coordination with the General Counsel and Senior Counsel.
• Maintain command of deadlines, court rules, filing requirements, case records, budgets, and next steps; promptly identify strategic, ethical, or operational issues requiring escalation.
• Prepare witnesses and organizational representatives for interviews, declarations, depositions, hearings, and other proceedings.

Legal Strategy and Partnerships

• Help identify and develop affirmative litigation opportunities consistent with CEI’s mission and institutional priorities.
• Coordinate effectively with outside counsel, pro bono firms, public-interest litigation organizations, clients, amici, experts, and coalition partners.
• Draft and supervise amicus briefs and support CEI’s participation as plaintiff, petitioner, intervenor, or amicus where appropriate.
• Provide candid, practical recommendations to the General Counsel and organizational leadership concerning litigation strategy, exposure, costs, and institutional considerations.

Regulatory and Policy Work

• Draft and review regulatory comments, petitions, agency submissions, testimony, and legal analyses involving federal and state regulatory action.
• Analyze proposed and final agency actions for statutory authority, Administrative Procedure Act compliance,…