The employee shall serve as a Counsel in OGC as a participant in the agency's Legal Honors program. Under the supervision of senior legal staff, the Honors Counsel will conduct legal research; draft legal opinions, regulations, regulatory guidance, and other documents; interpret federal statutes and regulations; provide legal advice; and represent FHFA related to all aspects of FHFA's operations. This posting is intended for candidates that have been admitted to the BAR.
Duties
This program is available to recent law school graduates (calendar year 2023 or 2024) who have been admitted to the bar and are currently employed in a judicial clerkship that will conclude by October 2025.
The Honors Counsel will work on assignments from each of the three branches within OGC:
- Mission Branch: supports FHFA's activities as supervisor and regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Office of Finance, including with respect to safety and soundness, charter compliance, executive compensation, and their housing and community investment missions; as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Also supports the agency's legislative activities.
- Administrative Law and ADEO Branch: provides overall direction, coordination, leadership, and representation on ethics, procurement and contracts, employment, trademark, mortgage fraud, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, data, research, and statistics and other administrative law matters.
- Enforcement & Compliance Branch: supports FHFA's administrative actions to enforce compliance by its regulated entities with applicable laws, regulations, Agency decisions, and safe and sound practices.
- Litigation Branch: provides oversight of litigation related to FHFA.
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
- Analyzes issues, conducts research, and prepares memoranda for senior attorneys on a wide variety of legal issues.
- Develops, drafts, and/or reviews documents such as legal opinions, regulations, policies, guidance, and related documents, legislation, contracts and other agreements, correspondence, pleadings, legal briefs, and other documents of importance to the agency.
- Reviews and interprets legislation, regulations, guidance, and policies.
- Works as part of a collaborative team with fellow legal staff, support staff, and subject matter experts on issues related to assigned areas of law or policy, including attending meetings with colleagues across FHFA.
- Researches, analyzes, and evaluates legal issues pertaining to FHFA in order to prepare legal documents, reports and memoranda for review, approval, and use by the General Counsel or other senior legal staff.
- Consults various electronic and hardcopy sources, including statutes, regulations, and case law.
- Researches, assembles, and summarizes legislative histories on issues of interest to FHFA staff.
- Performs legal research by utilizing a wide variety of electronic and hardcopy resources including electronic search engines and resources on the Internet. Contacts other regulatory and federal agencies to obtain information relevant to FHFA issues.
- Cite-checks, proofreads, and edits legal opinions and other OGC documents.
- Assists senior attorneys in litigation matters, including conducting research, drafting, and/or reviewing pleadings, and implementing strategies to address emerging challenges.
- Attends meetings with regulated entities and external parties on matters related to assignments, as appropriate.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Salary:
Conditions of Employment:
- Must be a U.S. Citizen
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
- Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation
- Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
- This is not a remote/virtual position; however, pursuant to the Agency's Telework Policy, some telework may be considered and approved.
- FHFA participates in e-Verify. All new hires must complete the I-9 Employment Verification form either on or before their first day of employment.
- If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
- This position may require the completion of a financial disclosure report.
- This position is eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit. The union that represents employees in this position is the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 343.
- Appointments for Honors Counsel are 14-month temporary positions.
- 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.
- Upon successful completion of the program, the employee may be considered for available vacancies in the Office of General Counsel.
Qualifications:
This program is available to recent law school graduates (calendar year 2023 or 2024) who have been admitted to the bar and are currently employed in a judicial clerkship that will conclude by October 2025.
Qualifying experience for the EL/GS-11 level includes:
Basic Requirement for Attorney positions:
- 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.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the EL/GS-09 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position.
EL/GS-11 level specialized experience includes: A federal or state judicial clerkship after law school in which the candidate gained experience researching, analyzing, and drafting legal memoranda and other related documents.
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.
Education:
ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? 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 of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.
Important Notes:
- Utilize the preview feature of USA Jobs to view your documents and ensure the formatting remains and all documents are legible.
- Additional materials will not be accepted after the announcement closes (e.g., updated grades, updated resume, etc.).
- Your full name must be clearly visible on all documents.
- Do not submit encrypted documents.
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
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.
How to Apply:
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/04/2024 to receive consideration.
- 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 resume 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.
- 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.
Benefits: 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. Learn more about federal benefits.
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