Public Interest Law Expert (Civil / Environmental) | $100–120/hr | Worldwide Remote
Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on Project Atlas — an initiative to build realistic enterprise environments where frontier AI agents are trained and evaluated. We're seeking experienced public-interest attorneys from major legal-aid organizations, public-interest law firms, and government offices to help design these environments and the tasks that challenge state-of-the-art AI systems.
About the Role
You'll bring your expertise in civil rights, civil legal aid, consumer protection, environmental law, or impact litigation to build a high-fidelity digital workspace that mirrors the tools, files, and workflows of a serious public-interest practice — then author tasks grounded in the matters you handle today.
Key Responsibilities
- Build a realistic digital workspace reflecting your day-to-day Drive folders — intake notes, case memos, pleadings, advocacy letters, policy briefs, grant reports, amicus drafts, and email threads — along with relevant platforms (e.g., Westlaw/LexisNexis, Clio/MyCase, Socrata/ArcGIS Hub)
- Design multi-step tasks grounded in real workflows that meaningfully challenge frontier AI agents across multiple apps, files, and stakeholders
- Collaborate asynchronously with other public-interest attorneys to shape task scope and review scenarios for realism and rigor
- Work with research teams to refine task designs and evaluation criteria for public-interest-law AI benchmarks
- Directly contribute to how leading AI labs train and evaluate the next generation of AI systems
Ideal Qualifications
- JD and active bar admission
- 3+ years of full-time public-interest experience at a major legal-aid organization, public-interest law firm, state AG/DOJ office, or impact-litigation nonprofit
- Background in one or more of: civil rights or civil legal aid (housing, family, immigration, public benefits); environmental law (CAA, CWA, NEPA, CERCLA, environmental justice); consumer protection or affirmative enforcement; impact litigation or amicus/policy advocacy; administrative/rulemaking advocacy
- Day-to-day proficiency with Westlaw/LexisNexis, Clio/MyCase, and Socrata/Esri ArcGIS Hub
- Strong analytical thinking and writing — able to translate complex legal workflows into structured task specifications
Compensation
This role begins at an effective hourly rate of $100–$120/hr and is expected to transition to a throughput-based compensation model rewarding quality output.
About Mercor
Mercor is a talent marketplace connecting top experts with leading AI labs and research organizations. Backed by Benchmark, General Catalyst, Adam D'Angelo, and Jack Dorsey, Mercor supports thousands of professionals shaping the future of AI.
