The Company

Smirnow Law is a specialized legal practice advising U.S. and international companies on complex legal and strategic matters shaping the clean energy economy. The firm’s work sits at the intersection of renewable energy, U.S. manufacturing, federal tax incentives, international trade and customs, supply chains, regulatory policy, and commercial strategy. Smirnow Law combines deep subject matter expertise with practical, business-focused advice for companies navigating rapidly evolving energy markets and policy.

Role Overview

Smirnow Law is seeking an experienced attorney to join the firm as Energy Transition Counsel, initially in a part-time Of Counsel capacity. The attorney will work directly with John Smirnow and the firm’s clients on sophisticated matters involving solar, energy storage, clean energy manufacturing, critical materials, tax incentives, international trade, supply chains, and regulatory strategy.

This is a primarily remote role expected to involve approximately 10-15 hours per week, with a guaranteed minimum of 50 hours per month for the first six months. The position offers highly competitive hourly compensation, substantial autonomy, and meaningful potential to grow in hours, client responsibility, and overall scope as the practice expands.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Advise clients on legal, regulatory, tax, trade, and commercial issues affecting the U.S. energy transition
• Counsel clients on clean-energy tax incentives, including Section 45X, domestic-content requirements, and FEOC/PFE restrictions
• Advise on international trade and supply-chain matters, including AD/CVD investigations, tariffs, customs, country-of-origin requirements, Sections 232 and 301, and trade-enforcement risk
• Support clients navigating U.S. manufacturing expansion, procurement strategy, supply-chain diligence, and related commercial considerations
• Draft client-ready legal memoranda, diligence analyses, strategy papers, client alerts, and other written communications
• Monitor and synthesize evolving legal, regulatory, tax, policy, and market developments and translate them into clear, commercially useful recommendations
• Analyze complex or incomplete factual records and identify the legal and business issues most relevant to the client
• Take ownership of defined client matters and workstreams, including direct client communications, with appropriate coordination on significant strategic, legal, and relationship issues
• Support regulatory strategy, federal policy matters, and advocacy affecting clean energy, manufacturing, and related industries
• Work collaboratively in a modern, technology forward practice, including the effective use of AI-enabled tools and workflows

Qualifications

• Experienced attorney with strong legal training and demonstrated ability to manage sophisticated legal and strategic matters
• Experience in one or more of the following areas: renewable energy, energy tax, solar, energy storage, domestic content, international trade and customs, supply-chain compliance, manufacturing, regulatory strategy, or related industrial sectors
• Experience with energy tax matters is particularly valuable
• Experience in oil and gas, manufacturing, or other industrial sectors may also be highly relevant, particularly where it involves tax, regulatory, trade, or commercial matters
• Excellent legal writing, analytical, research, and communication skills
• Strong judgment and the ability to translate complex legal and policy developments into practical business advice
• Ability to understand a client’s underlying business objectives and distinguish material issues from less consequential legal questions
• Intellectual curiosity and willingness to learn across adjacent disciplines; candidates are not expected to be experts in every subject area
• Ability to work independently, take ownership of client work, and operate effectively in a highly autonomous environment
• Responsive, commercially minded, and comfortable working directly with clients
• Comfortable working in a technology forward legal practice and utilizing AI-enabled tools and workflows
• Open to both experienced mid-level and senior attorneys; quality of judgment, writing, intellectual curiosity, and ability to take ownership are more important than a specific number of years in practice