OGE Legal Expense Fund Information Collection

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is the supervising ethics office for the executive branch under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (EIGA). OGE recently published a rule to establish a framework to govern an executive branch employee’s acceptance of both payments for legal expenses through a Legal Expense Fund (LEF) and pro bono legal services for matters arising in connection with the employee’s official position, the employee’s prior position on a campaign of a candidate for President or Vice President, or the employee’s prior position on a Presidential Transition Team (LEF regulation). The requirements for establishing and maintaining a LEF are found in 5 CFR part 2635, subpart J. In fulfilling the regulatory requirements, employee beneficiaries of a LEF must first submit a trust document for approval by their employing agency, and in some cases by OGE. The LEF funds must be administered by an independent trustee. Employee beneficiaries (through their trustees) must also submit quarterly and termination reports regarding the funds collected and disbursed by the legal expense fund. Information for these reports will in turn be collected from (1) donors who contribute to the legal expense fund for the payment of legal expenses and (2) payees who receive payments distributed from the legal expense fund. Together, this information collection (IC) is titled “OGE Legal Expense Fund Information Collection.”

The latest form for OGE Legal Expense Fund Information Collection expires 2026-07-31 and can be found here.