indexSG

The Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to all of state government. Through a combination of constitutional and statutory provisions, the Attorney General is charged with the vital responsibility of representing the State, its elected officials, and dozens of state agencies. Acting as the legal adviser to the State is one of the Attorney General’s most important duties. The Attorney General’s Office often appears in court or administrative proceedings involving state officials or agencies, or representing the broader interests of the State. The Attorney General also issues formal written legal opinions to provide guidance in resolving legal issues affecting the State. However these highly visible functions are only a small part of the breadth of legal services the office provides state government. Most of the legal services provided by the Attorney General’s Office occur in the day-to-day advice provided to state officials and agencies. State government is a very large and complex enterprise, doing everything from providing human services, to building roads, to protecting citizens from incompetent licensed professionals and protecting the environment. Legal issues often arise in the context of the State’s work. The Attorney General’s office guides, mediates, negotiates, drafts legal documents, and performs a wide range of other legal services to assist state agencies in fulfilling the important work of state government. The important agency representation function of the Attorney General’s Office is divided across several divisions of the office.