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Does anyone have any information about the Department of Labor Employee Benefit Security Administration? The agency oversees Title I of ERISA (basically pension law). Specifically, I'm curious about the opportunities after working for the EBSA as an investigator in the enforcement division. Would firms be attracted to someone with this experience as an expert in ERISA? Maybe plaintiffs firms that do ERISA litigation?

I would greatly appreciate any insight!

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Anyone else have any information? Is there a good market for ERISA lawyers?

I've heard ERISA lawyers can get a job pretty much anywhere because ERISA is super technical and no one knows anything about it/wants to learn it. (Source: my employment law prof.) I think a lot of labor/employment firms who counsel employers hire ERISA lawyers.

While you would think there would be a good market for it, the EBSA is rather small and does its straight-out-of-law-school hiring mostly through the DOL Honors Program, so it's competitive. Might be different if you've been practicing for awhile.

Working at PBGC this summer. Also interested.

Edit: In leveraging any sort of ERISA experience that is.

Anonymous User wrote:Working at PBGC this summer. Also interested.

Edit: In leveraging any sort of ERISA experience that is.

There's a very good market for ERISA attorneys, especially in boutique firms. Tons of former PBGC attorneys end up at Groom, for example. I think the situation would be much harder for EBSA investigators though, since they are not technically attorneys and firms might not consider it legal experience. EBSA doesn't actually employ attorneys as far as I know...they all work for the DOL Solicitor's office and focus on EBSA matters, but don't actually work in EBSA itself.

Also, I assume you're working for the Chief Counsel's Office at PBGC over the summer. If it's the General Counsel's, they don't actually do any ERISA law.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:EBSA doesn't actually employ attorneys as far as I know.

They definitely do hire attorneys. There's just not many positions.

During my interview I was told investigators at the EBSA all have a JD, MBA or CPA/CFA (I know those aren't the same as law or business school). The office I interviewed at recruits local law schools and career fairs, said in the last 4 years they've almost exclusively hired attorneys for the investigator position.