Attorney-Advisor (General)

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Litigation in the Legal Division of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The incumbent serves as an Attorney-Adviser and represents the CPPB in defensive and appellate litigation involving a wide range of legal disputes, including defensive litigation relating to the CFPB's rulemaking activities. The incumbent provides legal advice and guidance to CFPB clients on all relevant matters.

Duties

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The following are the duties of this position at the CN-71, broadly equivalent to the GS-15. If you are selected at a lower grade level, your duties will be adjusted accordingly.

• Represents the CFPB in all defensive and appellate litigation, including statutory and constitutional challenges to the Bureau's rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, and operational activities (including labor and employment litigation).
• Provides expert legal representation for the CFPB in all phases of litigation in trial and appellate fora. Drafts and responds to motions, pleadings and other legal filings, handles all aspects of discovery, conducts negotiations, and represents the CFPB at oral argument.
• Counsels clients, including CFPB leadership and senior CFPB staff, with respect to legal compliance, litigation risk, and other issues.
• Collaborates with the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, prudential regulators, and others in the litigation of cases relevant to the CFPB's consumer protection mission.
• Researches and drafts final appellate determinations of administrative FOIA appeals. Facilitates CFPB consideration of and responses to subpoenas seeking confidential CFPB materials.

If you are selected at CN-71 your official job title will be: Attorney-Adviser (General); organization title: Senior Counsel.

If you are selected at CN-60 your official job title will be: Attorney-Adviser (General); organization title: Counsel.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

• Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National
• A trial period may be required. Continued employment is contingent upon supervisory certification that continued employment will benefit the Federal Service; the certification will occur no less than 30 days before the end of the probationary/trial period.
• 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.
• File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
• This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with The CFPB. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow The CFPB to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time.

Qualifications

Each grade is at its Full Performance Level

Minimum Qualifications for the CN-71/CN-60:

1. Law Degree: Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B., J.D. or equivalent.

2. 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.

3. In addition to the minimum qualifications (Law Degree & Bar Membership) you also have to meet the years of related legal experience or attorney related experience substitution for each grade you apply to:

Per the CFPB Attorney policy, you must also meet the following minimum qualifications for the CN-71 level:

• Seven (7) years of legal experience, one of which must have been at the CN-60 level or equivalent (GS-14). Such experience must include experience as a licensed attorney in order to be creditable, (post-JD legal clerkships are qualifying for the experience requirement, pre-JD law clerk experience is not qualifying for the experience requirements); OR
• You must have thirty-six (36) months of specialized experience at the CN-60 (GS-14 or equivalent) that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position.

Per the CFPB Attorney policy, you must also meet the following minimum qualifications for the CN-60 level:

• Four (4) years of related legal experience. Such experience must include experience as a licensed attorney in order to be creditable, (post-JD legal clerkships are qualifying for the experience requirement, pre-JD law clerk experience is not qualifying for the experience requirements); OR
• You must have twelve (12) months of specialized experience at the CN-53 level (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position.

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.

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 non-bargaining unit position.
• 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 [redacted].

CFPB uses an experience-based process. 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)

See information on our base pay ranges and salary structure.

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.

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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.

Benefits

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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. Your Federal benefits include the following:- Challenging and rewarding work benefiting American consumers - Opportunities for development and advancement- Comprehensive Federal health, retirement, life (FEGLI), vision and dental (Benefeds) 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.