Jocelyn Richards is the Deputy General Counsel for General Law at the United States Department of Energy (DOE). She manages a legal staff responsible for providing legal support for non-programmatic issues throughout the Department other than those involving procurement and intellectual property. This portfolio includes the activities and functions assigned to the Assistant General Counsel for Ethics and Personnel Law (GC-21), and the Associate General Counsel for Finance and Information Law (GC-22). GC-21 serves as program counsel for the Offices of Management (MA) (on non-procurement matters), Human Capital Management (HC), and Public Affairs (PA). GC-22 serves as program counsel for the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Ms. Richards is the Designated Agency Ethics Official for the Department of Energy. She has been a DOE employee since 2005 and has previously held the positions of Assistant General Counsel for Ethics and Personnel Law, and Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Personnel Law and Administrative Litigation. She entered the Senior Executive Service in 2021.
Ms. Richards is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and holds a B.A. in Religion from Vassar College and a M.A. in International Relations and a J.D. from Boston University.