Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – 2022 CFPB Honors Attorney & Information Sessions
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created for moments like this. Born out of the Great Recession, the Bureau was forged in crisis to vigorously protect America’s consumers. Our mission is to help consumer-finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives.
The Bureau has rulemaking, supervisory, and independent litigating authority, and its jurisdiction includes certain aspects of mortgage lending, credit reporting, auto lending, small-dollar lending, debt collection, student lending, and consumer bank accounts.
The Honors Program
The Honors 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. Honors Attorneys are given increasingly complex assignments designed to build their legal skills and increase their ability to support the Bureau’s mission. Honors Attorneys serve a two-year trial period, after which, they are converted to permanent positions, which afford greater promotion potential.
Each Honors Attorney is permanently placed in a particular office in Washington, D.C. These include the Office of Enforcement, the Office of Supervision Policy, the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity, the Office of Regulations, and the Legal Division. During the program, Honors Attorneys will also be able to rotate into a different Bureau office or other federal agency to develop additional skills. Such rotations typically last about six months.
The Honors 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.
Honors Attorneys are hired at the CN-51, CN-52, or CN-53 level pay bands starting at $82,573, $96,448, and $111,199), depending on their level of experience. Promotion opportunities are available during and after the program.
Sample assignments include:
- Investigating and litigating potential unfair, deceptive, abusive, and discriminatory acts or practices or other potential violations of federal consumer financial law;
- Defending Bureau regulations in litigation;
- Drafting appellate and amicus briefs regarding consumer financial law and other issues;
- Providing analysis and advice for supervisory examinations;
- Participating in complex rulemakings;
- Developing policy guidance to improve industry compliance; and
- Advising senior Bureau officials on legal and policy issues, including those with general applicability to the federal government, such as labor, employment, ethics, and intellectual property.
To Apply
We want our agency’s workforce to reflect the diversity of the American public. Our work will be most effective when we are able to incorporate a broad range of perspectives. We are, therefore, particularly interested in hearing from a diverse set of candidates with a range of personal and professional experiences.
Applicants must submit the following documents as a single PDF: A current resume, highlighting your legal education and experience; a law school transcript (an unofficial version is acceptable); a cover letter, describing why you want to work at the Bureau, the type of work you would like to do, how your experiences will contribute to your success at the Bureau, and which office(s) you would prefer to work in (although your application will be reviewed by each participating office); and Veterans’ Preference documentation, if applicable.
Application materials must be submitted through the formal announcement on USAJobs by 11:59 PM Eastern on September 13.
Candidate Evaluation
Applicants will be evaluated for program eligibility and based on required submissions. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The Bureau may also consider additional materials requested throughout the process, such as writing samples and references. Applicants may be asked to complete additional screening processes, including interviews. Veterans’ preference will be applied as appropriate.
The program is highly selective, and successful candidates should have a distinguished academic and professional record, which may include graduation with honors, high class rank, experience on law review or other legal journals, moot court experience, a judicial clerkship or other post-graduate legal experience, and a demonstrated commitment to public service or consumer protection.
Program Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible, applicants must be either: (1) current law students who expect to graduate before August 1, 2022, or (2) attorneys who graduated from law school after August 1, 2018, 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. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Selectees will be subjected to a background investigation.
If you are eligible for Schedule A appointments due to a qualifying disability, please reach out directly via email for further information and assistance.
If you have additional questions, please email CFPB.
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Information Sessions:
The Bureau will host information sessions about the Program, including a question-and-answer period, conducted over WebEx on the following dates:
Monday August 23, 2021
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
https://cfpbgov.webex.com/cfpbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=edf4639902db9b3939aa2219a8b6764a7
Friday, August 27, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
https://cfpbgov.webex.com/cfpbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e1dea4404214ce042619899154175d827
Thursday, September 2, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
https://cfpbgov.webex.com/cfpbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e1a572ebef37b3bd98febb0709a237712
Friday, September 3, 2021
3:00pm – 4:00pm
https://cfpbgov.webex.com/cfpbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e4f6dba51643044edb85201cf85b35ca1
Thursday, September 9, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
https://cfpbgov.webex.com/cfpbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=ef88eb3cfc67c21f7d3d01d48e0034d5a
Friday, September 10, 2021
4:00pm – 5:00pm
https://cfpbgov.webex.com/cfpbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e443becc2358fd7f1e6bcd17169af550a