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Currently, there is no statutory or regulatory framework in the executive branch for establishing a legal expense fund, and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has not approved or disapproved any specific legal expense funds. OGE’s role has been limited to providing guidance to help ensure that executive branch employees who may receive distributions from a legal expense fund will be in compliance with the ethics laws and rules if they accept such a contribution. See OGE Legal Advisory LA-17-10 (2017). However, OGE’s longstanding limited approach to legal expense funds does not fully address potential appearance concerns with the creation and operation of legal expense funds for the benefit of executive branch employees. Accordingly, OGE is proposing to add a new subpart J to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees (Standards).  The new subpart contains the standards for an employee’s acceptance of payments for legal expenses through a legal expense fund and an employee’s acceptance of pro bono legal services.  OGE is also proposing to make related amendments to the portions of the Standards that govern the solicitation and acceptance of gifts from outside sources and the portions of the Executive Branch Financial Disclosure regulation that governs confidential financial disclosure reports.