This position is located in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Each Honors Attorney is placed in a particular office/division and may have an opportunity to rotate to different offices or other federal agencies to develop additional skills. The 2025 Honors Attorney class will begin in the fall of 2025 (late August through early October). This is a time limited appointment not to exceed two years and is typically converted to a permanent appointment based on agency needs.

Duties

The CFPB Honors Attorney Program is a two-year program designed to provide exceptional recent law school graduates with early, substantive opportunities to use and develop their legal skills and make a difference in the lives of American consumers. Diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences are critical in carrying out our mission to serve the American consumers. The Honors Attorney Program provides CFPB with an opportunity to further advance the Bureau's diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. This position could be located at our Headquarters in Washington, D.C., or in any of the following Regional Offices: Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, New York, NY, or San Francisco, CA. During the program, Honors Attorneys are given increasingly complex assignments designed to build their legal skills and increase their ability to support the Bureau's mission. The Honors Attorney Program also includes mentorship and both formal and informal training to enhance analytical thinking, writing, communication, and other legal skills, as well as an understanding of the Bureau's mission and work. Additionally, Honors Attorneys may be able to rotate into a different Bureau offices or other federal agencies to develop additional skills. Such rotations typically last four to six months. Honors Attorneys may be placed in one of the following offices/divisions: Enforcement Enforcement is responsible for investigating potential violations of the federal consumer financial laws and taking action such as litigating in federal court and the Bureau's administrative forum to address violations when appropriate. Enforcement's work is critical to furthering the Bureau's mission to make consumer financial markets work, protect customers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices, and take action against companies that break the law. Supervision The Office of Supervision Policy is responsible for developing supervision strategy and providing legal subject-matter expertise to supervision staff in connection with various consumer financial product and service lines and compliance areas, including fair lending. Their work ensures a consistent supervisory approach with respect to different consumer financial products for both banks and non-banks across the Bureau's four regions. Office of Regulations As a part of the Research, Monitoring & Regulations Division, the Office of Regulations is responsible for developing and implementing consumer financial regulations. In addition to highly skilled attorneys preparing and finalizing consumer finance rules, they also conduct 10-year regulatory reviews, regulatory burden reviews, and disclosure waiver requests. Their work also assists in providing guidance to industry on Bureau regulations and conducting compliance tools. Office of Fair Lending & Equal Opportunity As a part of the Office of the Director, the Office of Fair Lending & Equal Opportunity is charged with ensuring fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit for all consumers and communities. Office of Fair Lending functions include oversight and enforcement of federal fair lending laws, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; coordinating the fair lending efforts of the Bureau with other federal agencies and state regulators; working with private industry, community advocates, and other stakeholders on the promotion of fair lending compliance and education; and reporting to Congress on the efforts of the Bureau to fulfill its fair lending mandate. Legal Division The Legal Division, which has four program offices: (1) General Law and Ethics, (2) Law and Policy, (3) Litigation, and (4) Oversight, is responsible for providing advice on all legal matters; reviewing documents for clearance, rulemakings, enforcement, and other policymaking projects; handling defensive, appellate, and amicus litigation; managing and overseeing responses to requests for information from Congress and other oversight bodies; and ensuring compliance with laws, rules and regulations of general applicability to the federal government, including labor, employment, information, privacy, federal ethics, and others. As an Honors Attorney, you may be: Investigating and litigating potential unfair, deceptive, abusive, and discriminatory acts or practices or other potential violations of federal consumer financial law; Participating in complex rulemakings; Defending Bureau rules and regulations in litigation; Drafting appellate and amicus briefs regarding consumer financial law and other issues; Providing legal analysis and advice for supervisory examinations; Developing policy guidance to improve industry compliance; and Advising senior Bureau officials on various legal and policy issues, including those with general applicability to the federal government, such as labor, employment, ethics, and intellectual property.

Requirements

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This is a position established to provide developmental experience to recent law school graduates in the Honors Attorney Program. To be eligible, applicants must be either: (1) current law students who expect to graduate before August 1, 2025, and meet Superior Academic Achievements requirements: Includes at least a 3.5 GPA (on a 4.00 point scale) or equivalent, graduation with honors, graduating in the top 15% or higher in their class or other evidence of Superior Academic Achievement; OR (2) attorneys who graduated from law school after August 1, 2021 with superior academic achievements, and who, at the time of appointment, will have spent no more than one year since graduating law school in a position other than a graduate education program, judicial clerkship, public-interest position, or comparable activity **To be qualifying experience, Law Clerkships must begin after law school. Qualifications: Law Degree: Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B., J.D. or equivalent. Anticipated degrees must be obtained by August 1, 2025. Bar Membership: Applicants must be a current member of a bar with a valid license to practice law in a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or join such a bar within 14 months of appointment. **Applicants who are a current member of a bar with a valid license to practice law in a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be placed into the CN-51, CN-52 or CN-53 level attorney positions. Applicants who are not yet a member of the bar will be placed into the CN-51 grade level as a Law Clerk on a 14-month appointment until successful completion of the Bar Examination. Those not admitted to the Bar within 14 months will be separated from the CFPB. Experience requirements for the CN-51: Superior Academic Achievement as described in the eligibility section. Experience requirements for the CN-52: Superior Academic Achievement as described above and one year of clerkship, fellowship, or comparable experience. Experience requirements for the CN-53: Superior Academic Achievement as described above and three years of clerkship, fellowship, or comparable experience. The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your résumé.

Education

Law Degree: Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B., J.D. or equivalent. Anticipated degrees must be obtained by August 1, 2025.

Contacts

• Address
• Name: Applicant Call Center
• Phone: 304-480-7300
• Email: [email protected]