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Hey all,

I have summer offers to work in the CFPB and FTC's bureau of consumer protection. Anyone have any input on which one would be better for litigation experience as a new attorney?

My firm litigated against CFPB many times before and they are pretty badass. It looks like you would get great lit exp. Zero idea on the FTC.

Better for what?

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Better for what?

Good point. Edited for clarity.

CFPB, most definitely. Plus, if you can hustle and get a job offer, they are paid on the SEC scale (!!!) instead of the GS scale

Also, CFPB is made up of 4 divisions (if I remember correctly), one of those (I think enforcement) is where the majority of litigation occurs

The CFPB is indeed badass. It is probable, however, that it would not be long for this world in a certain political climate. You may want to delay your decision for, oh, a few more days.

CFPB is the better choice. The consumer protection regs are not going anywhere even if the CFPB does.

Does CFPB do its own litigation? I thought DOJ would litigate for them. As a general matter, "enforcement" divisions in fed agencies only do administrative enforcement, not in-court litigation (with some exceptions like DOL).

FTC Consumer Prot I'm pretty sure litigates though.

CFPB has independent litigating authority as well.

Anonymous User wrote:Does CFPB do its own litigation? I thought DOJ would litigate for them. As a general matter, "enforcement" divisions in fed agencies only do administrative enforcement, not in-court litigation (with some exceptions like DOL).

FTC Consumer Prot I'm pretty sure litigates though.

All of the financial regulatory agencies do their own civil litigation (both administrative and in court).

Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

lapolicia wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Does CFPB do its own litigation? I thought DOJ would litigate for them. As a general matter, "enforcement" divisions in fed agencies only do administrative enforcement, not in-court litigation (with some exceptions like DOL).

FTC Consumer Prot I'm pretty sure litigates though.

All of the financial regulatory agencies do their own civil litigation (both administrative and in court).

Good to know.

Anonymous User wrote:Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

Look like the CFPB only brought 24 admin and 5 fed actions this year. I'm not sure about the FTC, but that should say something about how active they are.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

Look like the CFPB only brought 24 admin and 5 fed actions this year. I'm not sure about the FTC, but that should say something about how active they are.

That's actually quite a bit for one year.

zot1 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

Look like the CFPB only brought 24 admin and 5 fed actions this year. I'm not sure about the FTC, but that should say something about how active they are.

That's actually quite a bit for one year.

In the same period FTC brought 16 admin and 44 fed actions, soooo

Anonymous User wrote:

zot1 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

Look like the CFPB only brought 24 admin and 5 fed actions this year. I'm not sure about the FTC, but that should say something about how active they are.

That's actually quite a bit for one year.

In the same period FTC brought 16 admin and 44 fed actions, soooo

Oh my god! No way! Lol.

zot1 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

zot1 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

Look like the CFPB only brought 24 admin and 5 fed actions this year. I'm not sure about the FTC, but that should say something about how active they are.

That's actually quite a bit for one year.

In the same period FTC brought 16 admin and 44 fed actions, soooo

Oh my god! No way! Lol.

I mean, laugh all you want. I'm just saying. The question was about litigation experience and there's no doubt the FTC does more fed work.

Number of actions is also a function of number of attorneys. If the FTC has more attorneys the number of actions they bring doesn't mean any one attorney necessarily gets more experience.

Hi, did you get an offer for the legal honors/pathways FTC program?

I interviewed with the FTC and they made it seem like litigation was minimal.

Nebby wrote:CFPB, most definitely. Plus, if you can hustle and get a job offer, they are paid on the SEC scale (!!!) instead of the GS scale

Also, CFPB is made up of 4 divisions (if I remember correctly), one of those (I think enforcement) is where the majority of litigation occurs

Technically they're on the Fed Reserve scale, with Fed Reserve retirement benefits, which tend to be better than SEC.

Yeah you should go to the FTC after tonight.

Anonymous User wrote:I interviewed with the FTC and they made it seem like litigation was minimal.

It depends entirely on the division. In antitrust it's minimal but in consumer protection there's actually a good amount, especially in the regional offices.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Number of actions is also a function of number of attorneys. If the FTC has more attorneys the number of actions they bring doesn't mean any one attorney necessarily gets more experience.

^This. Plus, as someone who works for a Financial regulator, I don't really see a difference between administrative lit and fed courts lit. The investigation side is the same --- docs + depos. On the lit side, the motions practice is similar, and basically its the difference between a bench trial and a jury trial at the end of the day.

Anonymous User wrote:Check out their entry-level hiring, if your goal is eventually to get in at one of them. I know FTC Bureau of Competition has a specialized hiring program for law students, but I haven't heard of anything regarding their entry-level hiring in Consumer Practices. CFPB Enforcement hires one or two a year straight out of law school, and they're the best of the best. If your goal is firm, go CFPB - firms are really interested in people with any experiences because it's so new.

Anon because ex gov't.

Honestly, I don't know why you'd want to go to a firm. Usually, people at a firm are trying to get into an enforcement position. In any event, what really matters is the experience you get at an agency. Develop an interesting portfolio and area of expertise, and you'll be marketable to a firm, regardless of which agency you choose.