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ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL

Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of the General Counsel

Summary

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is seeking a Supervisory General Attorney in the Enforcement and Appellate Litigation Group. As an Assistant General Counsel, you will lead a team that, among other things, investigates and makes recommendations to the Commission under Rule of Practice 102(e) with respect to alleged attorney misconduct. If selected, you will serve as an Assistant General Counsel working under the direction of senior OGC leadership.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/12/2026 to 03/26/2026
Salary
$169,608 to - $289,400 per year
Pay scale & grade
SK 17
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA
Denver, CO
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
17
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-IN-12901977-KLC
Control number
860871600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to: Well-qualified surplus/displaced SEC employees (i.e., CTAP) in the local area and current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees

Duties

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The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice to the Commission, individual Commissioners, and the Commission's divisions and offices concerning federal securities laws, administrative laws, and other applicable laws and rules, including the Commission's Rules of Practice. OGC is also responsible for investigating and making recommendations to the Commission under Rule of Practice 102(e) with respect to alleged attorney misconduct.

Typical duties include:

  • Providing legal advice and guidance to the Commission, divisions, and offices, including with respect to the Commission's regulation of attorneys appearing and practicing before it under Commission Rule of Practice 102(e) and other projects involving coordination across OGC and other offices and divisions.
  • Supervising the administration of the Rule 102(e) program with respect to attorneys, including supervising investigations of alleged misconduct by attorneys that may warrant the institution of Rule 102(e) administrative proceedings; making recommendations to the Commission, including for formal orders of investigation, institution of proceedings, and reinstatement; and making referrals of attorneys who have engaged in misconduct to state bar associations and other regulators and working with the Division of Enforcement and other divisions or offices to provide follow-up assistance to those external organizations.
  • Reviewing recommendations for reinstatement, reassociation, waivers, and other relief made by other divisions and offices, and supervising staff who review such recommendations.
  • Managing and directing the work of teams and performing a full range of supervisory duties, including setting priorities, preparing schedules for completion of work, ensuring high quality work, hearing and resolving complaints, and mentoring and training staff.
  • Reviewing draft speeches and publications from members of Commission staff, and supervising staff who review such speeches and publications.
  • Establishing and maintaining close cooperative working relationships with stakeholders, including staff in other divisions and offices and staff in the Office of the General Counsel.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • CITIZENSHIP: You must be a US Citizen.
  • You must possess a J.D. or LL.B Degree and you must be an active member of the bar in good standing.
  • This position is open to current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees.
  • Application procedures are specific to this vacancy announcement. Please read all the instructions carefully. Failure to follow the instructions may result in you not being considered for this position.
  • Supplementary vacancies may be filled in addition to the number stated in this announcement and may be filled from any division or office within the agency.
  • This position has promotion potential to the SK-17.
  • Consistent with 5 U.S.C. § 7511, you will be required to serve a two-year trial period (one year for preference eligible veterans) if the position to which you have applied is not the same or similar to your current position of record.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
  • DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
  • PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • This position is not in the collective bargaining unit.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the deadline. Please check the 'How You Will Be Evaluated' and 'Required Documents' sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following

  • J.D. or LL.B. degree --AND--
  • Active membership of the bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (Note: proof of bar membership will be required before entry on duty.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.

SK-17: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-14 level. Specialized experience includes:
  1. Conducting legal research and analysis of enforcement matters relating to federal securities laws; AND
  2. Providing legal advice (both written and oral) and analysis of complex legal issues relating to federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder; AND
  3. Conducting investigations and litigation to make recommendations to the Commission for action.

Education

You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent by the closing date of the announcement. Internal Applicants: OHR will verify education qualifications for internal applicants using documents in the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). If required transcripts or certificates are not present in your eOPF, you will be required to provide them to OHR. If selected, a start date will not be established until official transcripts are received

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Salary Ranges

  • Atlanta, GA
    • $169,608 - $289,400
  • Boston, MA
    • $181,652 - $289,400
    Chicago, IL
    • $179,295 - $289,400
  • Denver, CO
    • $179,829 - $289,400
  • Fort Worth, TX
    • $174,363 - $289,400
  • Los Angeles, CA
    • $186,982 - $289,400
  • Miami, FL
    • $170,814 - $289,400
  • New York, NY
    • $189,009 - $289,400
  • Philadelphia, PA
    • $176,733 - $289,400
  • San Francisco, CA
    • $200,505 - $289,400
  • Washington DC
    • $183,515 - $289,400


IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is available to individuals who have special priority selection rights under this plan. Individuals must be minimally qualified for this position to receive consideration for special priority selection. CTAP eligibles will be considered minimally qualified if they meet the minimum requirements for this position.

Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in the SEC application process due to a medical disability, please contact reasonableaccommodation@sec.gov. For religious-based accommodations, please contact religiousaccommodation@sec.gov . Please be sure to submit your request at least 5 business days in advance of the date you need the requested accommodation.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information for SEC Job Applicants: Federal EEO laws protect all applicants from discrimination on the following bases: race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Applicants who believe they have been discriminated against on any EEO basis can seek recourse through the SEC's administrative complaints process. To be timely, an individual must enter the EEO process within 45 days from when they know (or should have known) of the alleged discrimination. Click here for additional information.

The Fair Chance 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 the Legal and Policy Office in the Office of Human Resources at ElliottT@sec.gov.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume and application package will be reviewed to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements outlined in this announcement.

If you are found minimally qualified, a rating panel will review your resume and Accomplishment Record narratives. Accomplishment Record narratives should clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the following competencies:

Critical Thinking - Considers a variety of factors, general and subject matter-specific, when making decisions and determining next steps in a case.

Legal Analysis - Utilizes expert legal knowledge to apply relevant law to the facts of each case.

Technical Communication - Translates technical information into non-technical terms and accurately conveys technical information to end users (e.g., staff, management) and outside parties.

Workload Management - Prioritizes workload in a way that accommodates unforeseen developments and achieves successful outcomes.


Your resume must provide evidence that supports the claims made in your Accomplishment Record narratives; both documents must effectively showcase your qualifications. Each competency narrative should detail one specific, relevant example from your training or experience. Please limit each response to a maximum of 300 words, as any text beyond this limit will not be considered during the evaluation. You will upload one pdf or Word document with your narrative responses to each of the four competencies. Your responses must be in the below format:

Competency Title
Position title and dates from your resume that this experience was obtained

  • Describe the situation (i.e., the challenged faced, the problem solved)
  • Describe the specific actions you took
  • State the outcome, results, or long-term impact of your accomplishment
  • Name and email address of someone who can verify this information
Basis for Rating: The rating panel will evaluate applicants' accomplishment records and resume, then place them into one of the following categories: Highly Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified.
  • Highly Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has extensive skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Well Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has a moderate amount of skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but may have a limited amount of experience in several of the job related competencies.
Top ranked applicants will be referred to the hiring office for further review and consideration. The hiring office may directly contact recommended candidates for interview(s). When the selection is made, applicants will be sent a referral status notification and a final disposition notification.

To preview the Occupational Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12901977

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