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Securities and Exchange Commission

ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL

Securities and Exchange Commission See More Job Openings by This EmployerArrow
  • Full Time
  • $169,608 - $289,400/year
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Denver, CO
  • Washington, DC
  • Miami, FL
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Boston, MA
  • New York, NY
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Fort Worth, TX
March 12, 2026 Attorney Securities Law

Job Description

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is seeking a Supervisory General Attorney in the Enforcement and Appellate Litigation Group. As an Assistant General Counsel, you will lead a team that, among other things, investigates and makes recommendations to the Commission under Rule of Practice 102(e) with respect to alleged attorney misconduct. If selected, you will serve as an Assistant General Counsel working under the direction of senior OGC leadership.

Duties

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice to the Commission, individual Commissioners, and the Commission's divisions and offices concerning federal securities laws, administrative laws, and other applicable laws and rules, including the Commission's Rules of Practice. OGC is also responsible for investigating and making recommendations to the Commission under Rule of Practice 102(e) with respect to alleged attorney misconduct.

Typical duties include:

  • Providing legal advice and guidance to the Commission, divisions, and offices, including with respect to the Commission's regulation of attorneys appearing and practicing before it under Commission Rule of Practice 102(e) and other projects involving coordination across OGC and other offices and divisions.
  • Supervising the administration of the Rule 102(e) program with respect to attorneys, including supervising investigations of alleged misconduct by attorneys that may warrant the institution of Rule 102(e) administrative proceedings; making recommendations to the Commission, including for formal orders of investigation, institution of proceedings, and reinstatement; and making referrals of attorneys who have engaged in misconduct to state bar associations and other regulators and working with the Division of Enforcement and other divisions or offices to provide follow-up assistance to those external organizations.
  • Reviewing recommendations for reinstatement, reassociation, waivers, and other relief made by other divisions and offices, and supervising staff who review such recommendations.
  • Managing and directing the work of teams and performing a full range of supervisory duties, including setting priorities, preparing schedules for completion of work, ensuring high quality work, hearing and resolving complaints, and mentoring and training staff.
  • Reviewing draft speeches and publications from members of Commission staff, and supervising staff who review such speeches and publications.
  • Establishing and maintaining close cooperative working relationships with stakeholders, including staff in other divisions and offices and staff in the Office of the General Counsel.

Salary
  • $169,608 - $289,400/year
Conditions of Employment
  • CITIZENSHIP: You must be a US Citizen.
  • You must possess a J.D. or LL.B Degree and you must be an active member of the bar in good standing.
  • TRIAL PERIOD: Consistent with 5 U.S.C. § 7511, you will be required to serve a two-year trial period (one year for preference eligible veterans) if the position to which you have applied is not the same or similar to your current position of record.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
  • DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
  • PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • Selectee will remain in their current duty station.
  • Selectee wishing to relocate to HQ may be considered for a voluntary transfer. Relocation expenses are not authorized.
Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the deadline. Please check the 'How You Will Be Evaluated' and 'Required Documents' sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following

  • 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. (Note: proof of bar membership will be required before entry on duty.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.

SK-17: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-14 level. Specialized experience includes:
  1. Conducting legal research and analysis of enforcement matters relating to federal securities laws; AND
  2. Providing legal advice (both written and oral) and analysis of complex legal issues relating to federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder; AND
  3. Conducting investigations and litigation to make recommendations to the Commission for action.

Education 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 your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent by the closing date of the announcement. Internal Applicants: OHR will verify education qualifications for internal applicants using documents in the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). If required transcripts or certificates are not present in your eOPF, you will be required to provide them to OHR. If selected, a start date will not be established until official transcripts are received FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. For more information, click here. Applicants may also find the following helpful: National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) is an association of 19 credential evaluation services with admission standards and an enforced code of good practice. Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE) is an association of 10 credential evaluation services with a board of advisors and an enforced code of ethics Other Information Salary Ranges Atlanta, GA $169,608 - $289,400 Boston, MA $181,652 - $289,400 Chicago, IL $179,295 - $289,400 Denver, CO $179,829 - $289,400 Fort Worth, TX $174,363 - $289,400 Los Angeles, CA $186,982 - $289,400 Miami, FL $170,814 - $289,400 New York, NY $189,009 - $289,400 Philadelphia, PA $176,733 - $289,400 San Francisco, CA $200,505 - $289,400 Washington DC $183,515 - $289,400 IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is available to individuals who have special priority selection rights under this plan. Individuals must be minimally qualified for this position to receive consideration for special priority selection. CTAP eligibles will be considered minimally qualified if they meet the minimum requirements for this position. Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in the SEC application process due to a medical disability, please contact reasonableaccommodation@sec.gov. For religious-based accommodations, please contact religiousaccommodation@sec.gov . Please be sure to submit your request at least 5 business days in advance of the date you need the requested accommodation. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information for SEC Job Applicants: Federal EEO laws protect all applicants from discrimination on the following bases: race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Applicants who believe they have been discriminated against on any EEO basis can seek recourse through the SEC's administrative complaints process. To be timely, an individual must enter the EEO process within 45 days from when they know (or should have known) of the alleged discrimination. Click here for additional information. The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting the Legal and Policy Office in the Office of Human Resources at ElliottT@sec.gov. Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

  • Required: Your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire.
  • Required: Resume - To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the specialized experience related to this position within your two-page resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2. Your resume should highlight the competencies required for the position and include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification(s) and include specific employment dates (month and year and start and ends dates) and differentiate between full-time and part-time work. To help ensure the resume review fully credits your relevant experience, we recommend clearly referencing the competency and specialized experience demonstrated in each position or example you include in your resume. If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. Candidates external to the SEC will be allowed to submit a comprehensive resume for pay setting purposes after a tentative offer is made. If the applicant fails to provide the comprehensive resume by the specified deadline, the resume submitted at the time of application will be used to determine pay. No additional documentation will be accepted after the deadline. Note: Your resume must NOT contain pictures. If you are a current SEC employee selected for this position, the standard percentage increases will be applied (i.e., 6% for non-supervisory and 10% for supervisory positions) if your selection results in a promotion. If your selection results in lateral movement (i.e. no change in grade) you will maintain your current salary. If your selection results in a change in grade from an SK-15 to an SK-16 you will maintain your current salary. For helpful guidance for writing a two-page resume, click here.
  • Required: Accomplishment Record - For each competency, applicants must provide a 300 word or less written narrative describing one example of competency-related experience. Each example should document the position title and dates when the experience was obtained, detailed information about the problem or situation, the specific actions taken by the applicant, and the results or outcomes achieved by those actions. The applicant will also provide the name and contact information of an individual who can verify the provided information. This document must be uploaded to the application under Accomplishment Record. An accomplishment record submitted outside the USA Staffing system will not be accepted. Failure to provide the Accomplishment Record will result in a rating of IFFM: You were not considered because you did not submit all required documents and/or they were not in English as specified in the announcement.

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 the closing date of the announcement 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. 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 (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.



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