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Careers

Legal Practice at the FDIC

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About the FDIC:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system. The FDIC insures deposits; examines and supervises financial institutions for safety, soundness, and consumer protection; makes large and complex financial institutions resolvable; and manages receiverships.

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The Legal Division

The practice of law at the FDIC reflects the broad nature of the FDIC's work as well as its statutory powers. FDIC attorneys support the FDIC’s mission of insuring deposits, examining and supervising financial institutions, resolving large and complex financial intuitions, and managing receiverships. The FDIC also has its own litigating authority and contract authority, and our attorneys practice before courts and administrative tribunals, in addition to advising on procurements and acquisitions. While we periodically solicit applicants for specific positions, we welcome interest from practicing attorneys in positions in the Legal Division and may fill positions from this set of interested applicants. FDIC attorneys maintain active practices in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia headquarters plus multiple Regional Offices in the following practice areas:
 

Supervision, Policy, and Enforcement

  • Providing advice on legislation, regulations, and policy statements relating to insured depository institutions;
  • Providing advice on supervisory filings, safety and soundness, and compliance-related matters in Washington headquarters and the FDIC’s regional offices in Atlanta, Boston/New York, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, and San Francisco to ensure coordination and consistency in the application of banking laws and regulations to FDIC-supervised institutions;
  • Providing advice on deposit insurance coverage, assessments of insured depository institutions, and potential misrepresentations of FDIC deposit insurance and the FDIC’s name and logo;
  • Providing advice on the evolving technological advances in payment systems, digitalization, machine learning, the utilization of fintech companies, crypto assets, blockchain, stablecoins, and artificial intelligence in the banking sector; and
  • Investigating and providing advice on potential formal and informal enforcement actions, negotiating stipulations, litigating enforcement cases before the Office of Financial Institution Adjudication, and publishing enforcement-related notices and orders on the FDIC’s website.

Litigation

  • Representing the FDIC in traditional federal agency litigation in federal courts across the country;
  • Defending the FDIC against challenges to its statutory authority and regulations and in appeals from its administrative determinations;
  • Representing FDIC receiverships as plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex commercial litigation arising out of failed financial institutions, and providing litigation support for bank closings;
  • Investigating and, where appropriate, litigating civil claims against directors, officers, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals whose negligence or malpractice caused losses to insured depository institutions placed in FDIC receivership; and
  • Litigating appeals in which the FDIC or FDIC receiverships are parties and coordinating with the Solicitor General on appeals before the United States Supreme Court.

Resolution and Receivership

  • Providing legal advice on the FDIC’s execution of policies and program initiatives concerning the development of resolution strategies and resolution planning for complex financial institutions and other responsibilities involving complex financial institutions;
  • Providing legal advice and counsel on a wide variety of transactional and oversight matters related to the FDIC’s receivership authorities, including loan and asset sales and securitization, franchise sales, securities sales, structured financial transactions, corporate law, commercial law, real estate law, and mortgage servicing rights;
  • Advising on legislation, regulations, and policy statements relating to the FDIC’s activities as receiver of an insured depository institution or covered financial company; and
  • Developing resolution, receivership, and marketing strategies for failed banks involving hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits and loans.

Corporate Operations 

  • Providing legal opinions on a wide range of topics, including statutory powers of the FDIC and corporate governance, and serving as Executive Secretary to the Board;
  • Coordinating the FDIC’s responses under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act and providing guidance on Legal Division’s records management and supporting the eDiscovery work of the Legal Division, and other FDIC divisions and offices;
  • Handling labor and employment issues, including administrative hearings on employee-related matters and negotiations with the bargaining unit representative;
  • Providing advice and guidance on avoiding conflicts of interest and other ethical responsibilities, and supporting and providing a variety of dispute resolution and conflict management services in conjunction with other FDIC divisions and offices; and
  • Advising on FDIC procurements, acquisitions, and leases, including retention of outside counsel and contracts for other legal support services.
     

For more information, email your questions to HonorsAttorneyProgram@fdic.gov

Last Updated: February 10, 2026