Legal Fellowship Program:
The Legal Fellowship Program is a two-year assignment designed to give a recent law school graduate (including one in a clerkship or legal fellowship) the opportunity to work at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Legal Fellow will rotate through the two divisions of the Legal Function within the Legal and Compliance Group. Through this rotation, the Legal Fellow will have the opportunity to take on a wide variety of legal work, which may include the following types of matters, among others: financial institution supervision and regulation, market and discount window operations, regulatory enforcement investigations, account and financial services, payments law and regulation, employment, transparency, contracts, and litigation. The Legal Fellow also will have exposure to compliance work, including in the areas of financial crimes (anti-money laundering, countering terrorism financing, and economic sanctions programs), fraud, sensitive data, Markets Desk trading, ethics and conduct, third-party compliance, controls testing, and risk assessment.
Our Unique Work:
The Legal Function's mission is to provide high-quality legal services to the Bank. The function is headed by the Bank's general counsel and is divided into two divisions, each headed by a deputy general counsel:
- The Supervision, Markets, and Financial Services (SMFS) division provides legal advice in connection with (i) financial institution supervisory and regulatory matters, including legal support for supervision and regulatory reporting and legal analysis of regulatory applications; (ii) the Bank99s open market, U.S. Treasury auction, foreign exchange, reference rate and discount window operations; (iii) the Bank99s external and sponsored committees; and (iv) the Federal Reserve99s provision of accounts and financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. Treasury and other government agencies, government-sponsored enterprises, foreign central banks and international organizations, and other entities. SMFS also analyzes legislative affairs for the Bank, and the head of the division oversees the Bank Applications Department.
- The Enterprise Legal Services (ELS) division provides a range of expertise in support of the Bank99s mission and operations. The Enforcement and Litigation team represents the Bank in litigation and other disputes, advises on litigation risk and oversight matters and, together with the Board of Governors, pursues regulatory enforcement investigations and actions against supervised financial institutions in the Second Federal Reserve District. The Financial Intelligence and Investigations Unit conducts investigations, responds to law enforcement requests, and provides expertise on matters including financial fraud, accounting, and BSA/AML and OFAC-related matters. The Employment and Corporate Matters team advises on employment and labor law matters that impact the Bank99s people, including those related to ethics, immigration, leaves and accommodations, organizational change, and personnel policies, and advises and provides legal support to the Bank99s Freedom of Information Office. The Technology and Contracts team drafts, negotiates and advises on documents relating to the Bank99s procurement of goods and services, software and data licensing, cloud computing, and other technologies as well as matters relating to intellectual property, data privacy and security.
How You99ll Make an Impact as a Legal Fellow:
- As a Legal Fellow, you will have the responsibilities of a new attorney in the Legal Function. You will be expected to:
- Take ownership of and work on a variety of assigned legal matters, including:
- Conducting research and analysis of legal, factual, operational, or policy issues;
- Drafting contracts, legal memoranda, briefs, client emails, and other documentation;
- Creating and implementing processes to help ensure compliance with law and mitigate legal risk.
- Prepare and deliver presentations on timely legal issues.
- Advise and build relationships with internal stakeholders.
- Develop and maintain relevant technical and practical skills and share that knowledge within the Legal Function.
- Contribute to all aspects of the work of the Legal and Compliance Group as requested.
- In this role you also will have the opportunity to work on compliance matters, such as performing due diligence work, assisting on policy updates, and ethics and conduct reviews.
The Unique Skill Sets We99re Looking For:
- Juris doctor, with admission to the New York State bar completed or pending prior to beginning the fellowship.
- Must be able to begin work in the same calendar year as graduation from law school or completion of a clerkship or legal fellowship that began immediately following graduation from law school.
- Research and writing skills;
- A commitment to public sector employment.
To apply:
Applicants must provide a cover letter, resume, and their most recent law school transcript with their application. An applicant99s cover letter and transcript should be uploaded in the same section of the application site that asks for a resume to be uploaded. Finalists will be asked to complete a brief writing assignment.
The cover letter should address the following questions:
1) Why do you want to work at the New York Fed?
2) What99s one aspect of the New York Fed99s work that you99d like to learn more about?
Other Things to Know:
Salary: $145,000/year
We believe in transparency at the New York Fed. This salary range reflects a variety of skills and experiences candidates may bring to the job. We pay individuals along this range based on their unique backgrounds. Whether you99re stretching into the job or are a more seasoned candidate, we aim to pay competitively for your contributions.
How We99ll Support You:
Our programs and benefits are designed to support you through all your life stages:
- Learning & Growing: Educational assistance, career development tools, and stretch opportunities
- Supporting Your Family: Parental leave, adoption assistance, back-up dependent and elder care, college planning resources, and more
- Managing Your Health: Comprehensive insurance plans, leave policies, onsite Health & Wellness Center, and onsite Fitness Center
- Optimizing Your Finances: Pension plan, 401(k) with generous match, financial planning resources, and subsidized public transportation program
Our Culture is deeply grounded in our Touchstone Behaviors By working with us, you99ll have the opportunity to develop and demonstrate your ability to Communicate Authentically, Collaborate Inclusively, Drive Progress, Develop Others, and Take Ownership. These competencies shape our culture here at the Bank. They also provide a shared language for how we work together and achieve success and set clear expectations for leading with impact at every stage of your career. Learn more.
Apply now if you99re ready to join us in strengthening the U.S. economy together. Want to consider our other opportunities? Click here to see all our open roles.
This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, performance standards or requirements, efforts, skills or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change.
Full Time / Part TimeFull time
Regular / TemporaryRegular
Job Exempt (Yes / No)Yes
Job CategoryLegal Family Group
Work ShiftFirst (United States of America)
