Volunteering and Gov't Conflicts of Interest Forum

[LSL]

For those who work in fed/state gov't or are familiar with the protocols (which I'm sure differ by office but gen. info is good), what are the limitations you've seen on places you can volunteer with while doing gov't work? For example, are there ever limitations where you can't volunteer with a non-profit because it would look biased? Or can you let your volunteer-flag fly? Trying to get a sense of how this plays out IRL.

[Anonymous User]

I work for a state court. Attorneys are required to notify their judge if they want to participate in professional activities related to the practice of law, including "bar activities." (That comes straight from our employee handbook, but I don't think anyone really informs their judge when they're merely joining a bar association or attending lunches/etc.). It's kind of extreme, but I guess it derives from the code of judicial conduct to prevent the appearance of bias. We are not allowed to practice law in any fashion, including pro bono. We may give legal advice and draft documents only for family members, without compensation.

[mw115]

As a fed prosecutor, you can do lots of state civil stuff.

http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics/docs/ ... ol_pol.htm (see III.C)

[LSL]

Thanks for the replies . What if you're in a more prosecutorial/enforcement position? Ex: you work for the EPA or a state level environmental office that seeks out companies breaking the law. Then you also want to volunteer for greenpeace or some other environmental non-profit? In that case, it seems like any prosecution arm would have some agenda and that bias in line with that agenda would be fine, right? Honestly, I have no idea.

This example isn't my exact interest, but pretty close to what I'm thinking of.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the replies . What if you're in a more prosecutorial/enforcement position? Ex: you work for the EPA or a state level environmental office that seeks out companies breaking the law. Then you also want to volunteer for greenpeace or some other environmental non-profit? In that case, it seems like any prosecution arm would have some agenda and that bias in line with that agenda would be fine, right? Honestly, I have no idea.

This example isn't my exact interest, but pretty close to what I'm thinking of.

I did conflicts/outside employment (or volunteer) checks and requests in one of my federal gigs as an intern. That agency let employees speak and teach about the subject-matter, but they couldn't have joined the lobbying/interest groups that dealt with the subject-matter of the regulatory agency, for example. Another agency I was at was even more strict, to the point of disallowing my research assistant position at school because the generalized subject matter was abstractly related to the mission of the agency.

So, the short answer is: it depends. You need to ask your agency's ethics/employment lawyers.

[Anonymous User]

For those who work in fed/state gov't or are familiar with the protocols (which I'm sure differ by office but gen. info is good), what are the limitations you've seen on places you can volunteer with while doing gov't work? For example, are there ever limitations where you can't volunteer with a non-profit because it would look biased? Or can you let your volunteer-flag fly? Trying to get a sense of how this plays out IRL.

I had a similar question and this was the response I got:

"Our agency participates in the Federal Pro Bono Program. We publicize pro bono opportunities that have been reviewed by DOJ and approved as likely to be appropriate for federal attorneys. These include representational as well as clinic and other non-representational opportunities. "