CFPB Honors Attorney Program

About the Bureau

The CFPB plays an essential role in safeguarding household financial stability through our mission of ensuring that consumer financial markets are fair, transparent, and competitive. We aim to make consumer financial markets work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole. We protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law. We arm people with the information, steps, and tools that they need to make smart financial decisions.

The CFPB 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.

Diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences are critical in carrying out our mission because to serve the interests of American consumers, we need to understand their varying perspectives and interests.

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 are hired on a 2-year term limited appointment that may be converted to a permanent position upon successful completion of the program, consistent with agency needs.

Honors Attorneys are placed in a particular office or division in CFPB’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. or in any Regional Office in Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, New York City, NY, or San Francisco, CA. Offices and divisions include 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 may also be able to rotate into a different Bureau office or other federal agency to develop additional skills. Rotation lengths may vary but are typically four to 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 CFPB’s mission and work.

Honors Attorneys are hired at the CN-51, CN-52, or CN-53 level pay bands, 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;
• Participating in complex rulemakings;
• Defending Bureau regulations in litigation;
• Drafting appellate and amicus briefs regarding consumer financial law and other issues;
• Providing analysis and advice for legal and policy issues arising in supervisory examinations;
• 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.

Program Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible, applicants must be either: (1) current law students who expect to graduate before August 1, 2025, and who have superior academic achievements, such as, for example, a high GPA or equivalent, graduation with honors or a high class rank, or other evidence of superior academic achievement; or (2) attorneys who graduated from law school after August 1, 2021 with superior academic achievements, 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 or U.S. Nationals. Selectees will undergo a background investigation.

If you are eligible for Schedule A appointments due to a qualifying disability, please reach out directly to CFPB_DisabilityProgram@cfpb.gov for further information and assistance.

If you have additional questions, please email CFPB_HonorsAttorneys@cfpb.gov.

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: A current resume, highlighting your legal education and experience; a law school transcript (an unofficial version is acceptable at the application stage though selectees will have to provide official versions before beginning employment); and Veterans’ Preference documentation, if applicable.

Applicants are also strongly encouraged to submit a cover letter describing why you want to work at the CFPB, the type of work you would like to do, how your experiences will contribute to your success at the CFPB, and in which office(s)/division(s) you would prefer to work (although your application may be reviewed by each participating office/division).

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.

Information Sessions

The Bureau will be hosting information sessions about the Honors Program, including a question-and-answer period.

For the information sessions, the website is:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting

Meeting information for each session is as follows:

Tuesday, July 30, 12:00-1:00 EST

Meeting ID: 261 554 559 408

Passcode: DC2Yxf

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyinformationse7220078099361603586/

Tuesday, August 13, 3:00-4:00 EST

Meeting ID: 248 593 366 39

Passcode: Q74Uwh

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprograminform7220080208664555520/

Thursday, August 22, 12:00-1:00 EST

Meeting ID: 298 617 429 170

Passcode: doGUvG

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprograminform7220081646069297154/

Thursday, August 29, 3:00-4:00 EST

Meeting ID: 255 116 435 596

Passcode: yL7Xfb

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprograminform7220079017326977032/

Office Hours

The Bureau will be hosting Office Hours for Recruitment: These are 30 min sessions where potential candidates can connect directly with our recruitment team to learn more about job, the Honors Attorney program, company culture, and the application process.

For the Office Hours sessions, the website is:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting

Meeting information for each session is as follows:

Thursday, August 1, 12:00-12:30 EST

Meeting ID: 249 214 691 500

Passcode: 7dotDn

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprogram-offic7220084421389922306/

Tuesday, August 6, 4:00-4:30 EST

Meeting ID: 277 739 877 379

Passcode: mxxctG

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprogram-offic7220085158987657216/

Thursday, August 15, 3:00-3:30 EST

Meeting ID: 255 562 469 795

Passcode: EUpQfv

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprogram-offic7220085971508150274/

Tuesday, August 20, 12:00-12:30 EST

Meeting ID: 264 287 912 597

Passcode: ieoBs7

https://www.linkedin.com/events/cfpbhonorsattorneyprogram-offic7220086978526986240/