WASHINGTON - Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Margaret Weichert announced today that Mark A. Robbins will serve as OPM’s new General Counsel.  Consistent with 5 USC § 1201, President Trump has issued a memorandum directing Mr. Robbins, current Acting Chairman of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), to serve concurrently as OPM General Counsel.

Mr. Robbins previously served as OPM General Counsel from 2001 to 2006. He has also served as the General Counsel of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and as a Senior Rule of Law Advisor for the State Department in Babil Province, Iraq, where he was awarded the U.S. Army’s Commander’s Award for Civilian Service. Mr. Robbins was Executive Director of the White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board between 2006 and 2008.  He worked in private practice as a litigation attorney in Los Angeles, California between 1988 and 2000, and in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel from 1984 to 1988. Mr. Robbins began his career as a Legislative Assistant to two Los Angeles area Members of Congress, covering, among other things, civil service and federal human resources management issues.

“I’m very excited that Mark is returning to OPM,” said Acting Director Margaret Weichert. “Mark brings extensive professional experience that will help OPM deliver mission outcomes that will help advance the President’s Management Agenda.”

Mr. Robbins earned his undergraduate and law degrees from George Washington University. He is a member of the California and District of Columbia bars. In recognition of his extensive professional involvement and continued leadership in public administration, in 2013 Mr. Robbins was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.