Summary
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.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
This opportunity is open to U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals or Naturalized U.S. Citizens who are Students enrolled on at least a half-time basis, or accepted for enrollment, and seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) at a qualifying educational institution.
Duties
The externships start in January 2025 and end in April 2025, the start and end dates may be flexible. The dates must be agreed upon before the start of the externship.
Externs will work in one program area during the semester (see the "Qualifications" sections for a description of each program office).
Legal externs will be assigned to work with attorneys on projects and assignments that cover a broad range of CFPB's legal and regulatory work. That work depends upon the division or office where the student works. These are unpaid positions.
Externs must earn academic credit with permission of the extern's law school. Externs must sign CFPB's Student Volunteer Agreement and will be responsible for obtaining their school representative's signature.
Externship opportunities are full time and/or part time with a minimum 12 hours per week required. This is determined and agreed upon based on the volunteer student's academic course load schedule and division/office needs. You will have the opportunity to discuss schedule, hours, etc. upon selection and acceptance into the program. Student Volunteers may work during the school year and/or school vacation periods. The nature of the volunteer assignment as well as the work schedule will be established once on-board.
Requirements
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.
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. 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.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application includes your:
- Cover letter, including program areas ranked in order of interest (REQUIRED)
- Responses to the online questions
- Résumé
- Current transcripts showing enrollment (REQUIRED- unofficial is acceptable)
Veterans preference is not applied but considered a positive factor.
Required Documents
A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note - 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. You will also be deemed ineligible if you fail to submit a cover letter.
You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of courses showing title, number of credits, and grade (if applicable) from an accredited college or university verifying proof of enrollment.
Both official AND unofficial transcripts are acceptable as part of the application process. However, if you are selected, you will be required to provide an official transcript before you report to work.You must be attending a school than is an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which these criteria, please refer to www.ed.gov.If you are eligible based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency; more information may be found http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e4.asp#e4a. We recommend you get this process started as soon as possible to avoid delays in appointment if selected.
RECOMMENDED DOCUMENTS: In addition, we recommend that you submit copies of the following:
- Bar Membership Documentation
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
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.
Please review the entire announcement before applying.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.
You may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation as part of the job application process if you need one due to a disability or religion. Learn more about reasonable accommodations.
If you applied for a job at CFPB and think you may have been subjected to unlawful discrimination related to your application, you have rights. Learn more about raising an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) issue.
- 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 résumé 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. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
- 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.
To verify the status of your application:
- Log into your USAJOBS account (USAJOBS Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen.
- Under "application status," click "Track this application" and you will be taken to the agency website where you can check your application status.
For more information regarding the job and applicant status, please refer to https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application. No updates can be made once the announcement has closed. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.
To preview the assessment questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12511412
Next steps
Once the online application is submitted, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your résumé and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct any required suitability and/or security background investigation.
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