NCUA Hires Ethics Attorney Months After the General Counsel Scandal

In the wake of a scandal that enveloped the agency’s general counsel’s office earlier this year, the NCUA has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Fischmann as the agency’s first chief ethics counsel, effective Dec. 21.

In the newly-created position, Fischmann will oversee the Office of Ethics Counsel — an office that will “certify the agency’s compliance with relevant federal ethics laws and regulations, promote accountability and ethical conduct, and help ensure the success of the NCUA’s ethics programs, including programs designed to prevent harassment and misconduct in the workplace,” the agency said.

She will report directly to the NCUA board and will be supervised by the agency chairman.

“Elizabeth Fischmann is a strong leader with an impressive legal background and record of accomplishment in managing ethics programs in the federal government,” NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood said.

Fischmann currently is the associate general counsel for ethics and the designated agency ethics official at the Department of Health and Human Services. She also has served as associate general counsel at the Office of Government Ethics and deputy counsel for the Department of the Navy.

She earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor’s of arts degree from the University of Virginia.

The NCUA announced the creation of the office following an agency Inspector General report that said former NCUA General Counsel Michael McKenna and his deputy, Lara Daly-Sims, had visited strip clubs, and consumed alcohol and possibly marijuana, while on government time.

In the report, Daly-Sims said she felt coerced by McKenna, who at the time was the agency’s designated ethics officer. McKenna has retired from the agency and Daly-Sims now works for a private law firm.