BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY



TREASURY ORDER 107-04

DATE: July 25, 1989

SUNSET REVIEW: TBD

SUBJECT: The General Counsel

By virtue of the authority vested in me as Secretary of the Treasury, including authority vested in me by 31 U.S.C. 321(b), it is ordered that:

1. The Department has a General Counsel, who pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 301(f)(1), is the Chief law officer of the Department. The General Counsel is the final legal authority within the Department and, as such, has the authority to participate in and decide any legal matter within the Department. The General Counsel is the head of and supervises the Legal Division, which constitutes the consolidated legal staff of the Department. All attorneys whose duties include providing legal advice to officials in any office or bureau of the Department shall be part of the Legal Division under the supervision of the General Counsel.

2. The General Counsel provides legal advice to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Deputy Secretary, the Under Secretaries, the Assistant Secretaries and to all offices and bureaus of the Department on any matter that may arise within the Department. The following are also included in the functions of the General Counsel:

a. considers the legal problems relating to Department management, government financial operations, the public debt, the revenue and customs laws, international and domestic economic, monetary and financial affairs, and law enforcement activities;

b. coordinates the Department's position in litigation;

c. reviews the Department's regulations for legal sufficiency;

d. reviews the Department's ethics program and counsels the Department's officers and employees on conflicts of interest and ethics matters;

e. coordinates and assists in the preparation of certain legislative reports to the Congress and the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department's annual legislative program;

f. considers appeals to the Secretary in administrative matters where so designated; and

g. performs such other tasks as the Secretary may direct.

3. In performing these functions and services, the General Counsel operates principally through and supervises a Deputy General Counsel, the Assistant General Counsel (including the Assistant General Counsel who is the Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service), the Counselor of the General Counsel, the Tax Legislative Counsel, the International Tax Counsel, the Chief Counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Counsel to the Inspector General. Each of the officials listed in this paragraph shall be responsible for referring to the General Counsel any matter on which action would appropriately be taken by the General Counsel.

4. The General Counsel is hereby delegated authority to determine the structural and functional organization of the Legal Division and to establish the policies, procedures and standards governing its functioning.

5. The Legal Division shall continue to be a bureau within the Department for purposes of appointment and administration of personnel, the labor management relations program, and the ethics program. The General Counsel, with the concurrence of the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Management), may determine that the Legal Division shall operate with other authorities and responsibilities of a bureau.