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.
Summary
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.
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.
Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form i-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
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.
Additional information
OTHER INFORMATION:
We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
All candidates will be considered without regard to any non-merit reasons such as race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, lawful political affiliation, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, protected genetic information, parental status, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.
This is a bargaining unit position, however, you may also be placed into a non-bargaining unit position depending on the particular office for which you will be selected. The Union that represents CFPB employees is the National Treasury Employees Union ("NTEU"), Local Chapter 335.
We offer opportunities for telework.
We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
Bureau employees are subject to government-wide ethical standards of conduct, financial disclosure requirements, and post-employment prohibitions, which applicants may review at www.oge.gov. In addition, employees must comply with the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (5 CFR 9401), which, among other things, prohibit an employee or the employee's spouse or minor child from owning or controlling a debt or equity interest in an entity supervised by the Bureau. Regulations also impose restrictions on the outside activities of certain Bureau employees, including examiners and attorneys. Applicants may review the Bureau ethics regulations and a summary of the regulations at www.consumerfinance.gov. Questions regarding these requirements and prohibitions should be directed to the Bureau Ethics Office at EthicsHelp@cfpb.gov.
The locality pay you receive will be determined by your duty location: Washington D.C., or Regional Office.
CFPB uses an experience-based process to set pay for employees. Experience is evaluated and credited using the employee's résumé. To ensure that all of your prior work experience (e.g., internships, volunteer work, details, part-time, self-employment, secondary jobs, etc.) is considered and accounted for, please ensure that your résumé covers the following:
your entire work history with specific start and end dates (MM-DD-YYYY) provided for each listed position
hours worked per week for each position
degrees and the dates conferred (MM-YYYY)
Part-time experience will be credited pro-rata based on a 40-hour work week, while work of 32 hours or more will be rounded up to full-time experience. If you have multiple positions that have overlapping start and/or end dates, only 40 hours of experience will be credited for a given work week. Refer to Resume Tips for more information on how to submit a comprehensive résumé. See information on our base pay ranges and salary structure.
Our comprehensive benefits are among the most generous in the federal government. They include:- Challenging and rewarding work benefiting American consumers - Opportunities for development and advancement- Comprehensive Federal health, vision, dental, life, and long-term care insurance programs.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will evaluate your application by comparing your description of your work experience, level of responsibility, and accomplishments, with the requirements of the position to determine whether you meet all the qualification requirements. The assessment questions are for information gathering purposes only.
Veterans preference is not applied but considered a positive factor.
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting: Ana.GuzmanEvans@cfpb.gov
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, 3. Transcripts, and 4. Submission of any required documents.
Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). Please ensure all required documents, including any required work samples, narratives, or other materials as stated in this announcement, are attached to your application package
All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans preference as a positive factor, please see applicant guide for required documentation. In order to be considered for veterans preference, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.
EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent if selected. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.
RECOMMENDED DOCUMENTS:In addition to the required documents: Candidates are strongly recommended to submit a cover letter, describing why you want to work at the CFPB, the type of work you would like to do, how your experiences will contribute to your success at the CFPB, and, if you have a preference, which office(s) you would prefer to work in (although your application will be reviewed by each participating office). Candidates are also recommended to submit a recent legal writing sample; and candidates who are members of an active bar may include proof of their active bar membership.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.
Please review the entire announcement before applying.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.
You may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation as part of the job application process if you need one due to a disability, pregnancy; childbirth; or related medical conditions, or religion. Learn more about reasonable accommodations.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application:
-Log into your USAJOBS account (USAJOBS Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen
-Under "application status," click "Track this application" and you will be taken to the agency website where you can check your application status.
For more information regarding the job and applicant status, please refer to https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application. No updates can be made once the announcement has closed. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.
Once the online application is submitted, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your résumé and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct any required suitability and/or security background investigation.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, 3. Transcripts, and 4. Submission of any required documents.
Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). Please ensure all required documents, including any required work samples, narratives, or other materials as stated in this announcement, are attached to your application package
All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans preference as a positive factor, please see applicant guide for required documentation. In order to be considered for veterans preference, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.
EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent if selected. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.
RECOMMENDED DOCUMENTS:In addition to the required documents: Candidates are strongly recommended to submit a cover letter, describing why you want to work at the CFPB, the type of work you would like to do, how your experiences will contribute to your success at the CFPB, and, if you have a preference, which office(s) you would prefer to work in (although your application will be reviewed by each participating office). Candidates are also recommended to submit a recent legal writing sample; and candidates who are members of an active bar may include proof of their active bar membership.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.
Please review the entire announcement before applying.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.
You may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation as part of the job application process if you need one due to a disability, pregnancy; childbirth; or related medical conditions, or religion. Learn more about reasonable accommodations.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application:
-Log into your USAJOBS account (USAJOBS Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen
-Under "application status," click "Track this application" and you will be taken to the agency website where you can check your application status.
For more information regarding the job and applicant status, please refer to https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application. No updates can be made once the announcement has closed. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.
Once the online application is submitted, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your résumé and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct any required suitability and/or security background investigation.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
