IEC Journal

Details on Retired Admiral Post-Employment Case

A 2007 press release from the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of California gives more information on the criminal case against a retired admiral who represented a contractor in its dealings with the Navy. This was the subject of some interest at the February monthly meeting.

New Pentagon Rule Slows Revolving Door

Government Executive reports:

Pentagon officials who participate in costly acquisitions now will need written approval from an agency ethics officer before taking a job with a Defense Department contractor.

The interim rule in the Jan. 15 issue of the Federal Register, attempts to slow the revolving door between government and private industry. It was among a blitz of new regulations published on Thursday by DoD and other government agencies, responding primarily to legislation passed by Congress in the fiscal 2008 and 2009 Defense authorization measures.

Among the most significant rules is a regulation barring Pentagon officials who have "participated personally and substantially in a DoD acquisition exceeding $10 million or who [have] held a key acquisition position" from accepting a job with a defense contractor without first obtaining a written opinion from a Defense ethics counselor. The counselor will determine which, if any, activities the official can perform on behalf of the contractor for the first two years after the official leaves government.

Revised Slides for January Presentation

Here is a link to the revised version of the slides for the recent presentation by Peggy Love and Steve Csontos on the topic "Seeking Employment and Post Employment Obligations for Government Attorneys Entering the Private Sector":

Download Seeking-Post Employment for Attorneys- IEC Meeting 109 (2)

Most of the changes are minor, but note that Slide #37 entitled "Resources" references an OGE Advisory Opinion which has been changed. The link above incorporates the correction.

Topic for Jan. 8 Meeting: Govt. Lawyer Transition to Private Sector

Peggy Love and Steve Csontos will speak on the topic "Seeking Employment and Post Employment Obligations for Government Attorneys Entering the Private Sector" at the Jan. 8 IEC meeting. Their MS PowerPoint slide show is available for pre-meeting downloads. If you want to save paper, remember that you can format the slide show to print three or six slides per page.

January 8 IEC Meeting: Gov. Attorneys Entering Private Sector

Peggy Love and Steve Csontos will speak at the Jan. 8 IEC meeting on "seeking and post-employment obligations for government attorneys entering the private sector," the same topic as Ms. Love's DC Bar presentation mentioned here earlier. Thanks to John Szabo for the tip.

CLE on Gov. Lawyers Moving Into Private Sector

The DC Bar Association will host a two hour CLE program on transition of government jobs into the private sector on December 3, 2008. The instructor is Peggy Love, of EPA. The DC Bar web site describes the program as follows:

The move from Federal government employment to the private or non-profit sector raises important ethics issues for attorneys.  As government attorneys face employment transitions in 2008, this course will help them avoid the pitfalls that leaving government service can pose.  The post employment restrictions do not always coincide with the Bar's ethics rules and carry criminal penalties if violated. Even those who are not planning to leave the government will benefit from a clear understanding of post-government employment ethics issues, including matters a federal attorney may be permanently barred from working on after leaving federal service. From potential conflicts of interest that must be considered during and after the employment search process, to rules about confidentiality and contact with one's former government employer, government attorneys will walk away from this course with a clear understanding of both the ethical standards in the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct and any relevant statutory requirements.  It is particularly important for government attorneys to understand that they face potential criminal liability and disciplinary action from the Bar for violating some of these rules. The course also will alert attendees to post-government employment issues on fee sharing, representation of a foreign entity and other issues that government attorneys need to understand when dealing with employment transitions.

Post-Employment Restrictions on Senior Level (SL) and Scientific and Professional (ST) Employees?

The Fedmanager newsletter has a summary of of the recent OGE guidance on Senior Level (SL) and Scientific and Professional (ST) Employees. One-sentence summary: OGE says that as a result of the Senior Professional Performance Act of 2008, many more SL and ST employees will be covered by the one-year post-employment restrictions as the locality pay they were previously receiving will now be part of their basic pay.

OGE: Document Ethics Advice, Work With IGs

OGE responds to a GAO report entitled Post-Government Employment Restrictions and Foreign Agent Registration: Additional Action Needed to Enhance Implementation of Requirements 12-16 (July 2008), by providing the following guidance:

OGE strongly encourages agency ethics officials to document ethics advice provided to current and former employees.  Additionally, ethics officials should establish close working relationships with their respective Inspector General offices.  This includes providing Inspector General personnel with information when needed about the ethics advice given to specific individuals.  This also may include providing training and other assistance to help Inspector General personnel understand better the criminal conflict of interest laws, standards of conduct, and pertinent supplemental agency regulations.

"Substantial Relationship" in Legal Ethics Context

An article from Washington Lawyer entitled How Substantial Is Your Relationship? deals with legal ethics, but the analysis could be useful in government employment contexts.

Thanks to the IEC member who drew to our attention to this article. We try to make this web site a lively source of useful information, and in furtherance of this objective, we welcome your topic suggestions.

Handouts on OGE's New Rule 207

With the permission of Rick Thomas, here are the slides accompanying his presentation at this month's IEC meeting on OGE's new Rule 207, in your choice of formats:

• PowerPoint
• PDF - Printed 6 slides per page