Legal Student Volunteer-Unclassified Duties

Other Agencies and Independent Organizations - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · Location Negotiable After Selection

Company

Other Agencies and Independent Organizations - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Location

Location Negotiable After Selection

Type

Full Time

Job Description

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now accepting applications from 2L, 3L, and 4L law students for its Spring 2025 Legal Externship (Unpaid) Program in our Washington DC office. The position may be remote depending on the hiring office. The Bureau is an independent federal agency built to protect consumers. We write and enforce rules that keep banks and other financial companies operating fairly. We also educate and empower consumers.

Learn more about this agency

Conditions of Employment

To be eligible for this volunteer externship all of the following requirements must be met.

You MUST be a student currently enrolled at least half-time in an accredited four-year college or university as a 2L, 3L, and 4L law student.
You MUST submit academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the eligibility requirements. (Unofficial is acceptable)
You MUST submit a cover letter
You MUST maintain a minimum of a 2.5 GPA or equivalent on a 4.0 GPA scale from an accredited institution.

CFPB is currently offering expanded telework opportunities to all staff. Additional work location and schedule flexibilities will be available to CFPB staff.

If you do not submit sufficient academic documentation necessary to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility requirements described in this announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete, and you will be ineligible.

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.

Key Requirements:

Please refer to "Conditions of Employment."
Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
A Public Trust background investigation will be required.

Qualifications

Applicants should have excellent research and writing skills, solid academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to the mission of CFPB.

Externs will work in one program area during the externship. Positions are available in the following program areas:

Legal Division: Advises on legal matters; reviews clearance, rulemaking, enforcement, and other policy documents; represents CFPB in administrative, defensive, appellate, and amicus litigation; manages responses to requests for information from Congress and other oversight bodies; and ensures compliance with federal ethics regulations and other laws, rules, and regulations. Incumbents may assist attorneys in any of the Legal Division's offices by conducting legal research on novel or complex issues; drafting memoranda, correspondence, and motions; working on litigation matters or Congressional investigations; and reviewing documents in the Bureau-wide clearance process. May also attend staff meetings, moots, court proceedings, and other exciting events.
Office of Enforcement: Responsible for investigating potential violations of Federal consumer financial laws and taking action to address violations when appropriate. Enforcement's work is critical to furthering the Bureau's mission to make consumer financial markets work, protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices, and take action against companies that break the law. Externs in Enforcement support active litigation and investigations. Externs are often assigned to case teams in active litigation and receive legal research and other assignments in support of other investigations and matters. When possible, externs are provided with the opportunity to observe hearings, depositions, and other proceedings.
Office of Regulations: Responsible for developing and implementing consumer financial regulations and guidance. In addition to preparing and finalizing consumer finance regulations, attorneys also conduct periodic regulatory reviews and regulatory burden reviews of existing regulations and provide guidance to other CFPB offices, government agencies, and external stakeholders on the interpretation of the CFPB's consumer financial regulations. Externs will be placed on an active rulemaking or regulatory implementation team for the duration of their semester-long externship. An extern's duties may include researching and analyzing complex factual, legal, and policy issues; preparing memos addressing these issues; and presenting their work to team members and others.
Office of Supervision Policy: Support supervisory exams by providing legal and policy advice and developing strategy. A supervisory exam is a review of an institution's activities, management, and internal controls. OSP attorneys recommend how potential violations should be resolved and participate in interagency groups. Extern assignments focus on legal analysis, research, and writing, such as preparing a legal memorandum on whether to cite a supervised entity for a violation of law. Externs support for exams may include fact analysis, field market research, and presentations to examiners. Externs collaborate with examiners, OSP teams and other regulators.
Office of Civil Rights: Enforces employment civil rights laws and works to prevent and correct any unlawful discrimination in the workplace for employees and applicants for employment. OCR processes EEO complaints filed by CFPB employees and applicants in accordance with timeframes and guidelines set forth by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and issues mandated reports. Legal Externs in the OCR will have the opportunity to (1) observe the complete EEO adjudication process and assist in Alternative Dispute Resolution such as mediations, reviewing affidavits, reviewing Reports of Investigations, draft and review final agency decisions, and draft and review accept/dismiss letters for legal accuracy before issuance, (2) conduct targeted legal research in civil rights laws, employment laws, and EEOC federal regulations and write clear and concise legal memorandum on issues that arise within the EEO Complaint Process, and (3) work on special projects within OCR to support its mission, including assistance in research and drafting reports and policy, assisting with creating and presenting webinars on EEO topics, and supporting monthly educational events for the workforce.
Office of Competition and Innovation: OCI is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing Bureau efforts to spur consumer-friendly innovation and monitor markets for competition-related issues. This includes, e.g., working with other offices on information collection initiatives and rule writing, researching and drafting reports, and coordinating with other regulators. Extern duties may include researching and analyzing complex factual, legal, and policy issues related to competition and innovation; assisting with memos, reports, and orders; reviewing third-party information submissions; participating in internal meetings; and interacting with external stakeholders. OCI is especially interested in candidates with a strong background and/or interest in fintech.
Office of Fair Lending & Equal Opportunity: The Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (OFLEO) is the Bureau's fair lending policy office and is charged with advancing the CFPB's role as a national leader in ensuring fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit for individuals, small businesses and communities. OFLEO's work focuses on many different areas of consumer finance including home loans, student loans, auto loans, and small business loans. Externs in OFLEO will have an opportunity to assist with the Bureau's fair lending work through policy development, supervision and enforcement activity, economic and market research, and rule-making initiatives. Externs' work may include algorithmic bias, appraisal bias, justice-involved individuals and families, redlining, discriminatory targeting, student lending, small business lending, and other fair lending topics.

Education

You must be an enrolled 2L, 3L, or 4L law student.

Additional information

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, and over the age of 18, you must certify that you have registered with Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
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.
As required by hiring office, you may be required to: 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.
Successfully complete a background investigation.
Relocation expenses will not be paid.
This position is ineligible for bargaining unit representation.
Maintain a student status throughout the externship (be actively enrolled at an accredited 4-year college or university)
Ethics: CFPB 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, CFPB employees must comply with the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (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 CFPB. CFPB's regulations also impose restrictions on the outside activities of certain Bureau employees, including examiners and attorneys. Applicants may review the CFPB ethics regulations and a summary of the regulations at www.consumerfinance.gov. Questions regarding these requirements and prohibitions should be directed to the CFPB Ethics Office at [email protected].

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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal 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.