Planet Saver

The Nature Conservancy's mission is to protect the Earth's biodiversity by conserving essential land and water. The group has safeguarded more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers. The organization, founded in 1951 as the Ecologists Union, is based in Washington. It employs approximately 3,500 people and has programs in all 50 states plus Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Africa. The nonprofit group has an operating budget of $450 million derived mostly from contributions and income from endowments. The conservancy boasts more than 1 million members. The conservancy's approach has been to establish legal protection for specific lands and waters of biological diversity. Strategies include securing legal title and using conservation easements, land registries and public-land designations. Helping to develop conservation-friendly public policies and market incentives, such as debt-for-nature swaps or payments for ecosystem services, is also on the legal team's plate. The team includes 48 attorneys among a staff of 115. The organization has invested primarily in in-house counsel; only 25 percent of the legal work goes outside...law.com