The Attorney General serves as the primary legal adviser of the State, providing advice and opinions regarding all matters of State law. Furthermore, they conduct all cases brought before the Supreme Court that involve either the State or its citizens.
The Attorney General enjoys extensive common law and statutory powers to investigate and prosecute environmental crimes, consumer fraud cases and public utility rate and service issues.
Legal Advice
The Attorney General and Office of the Attorney General provide legal advice to State officers, State’s attorneys and county prosecutors on matters pertaining to their official duties. This advice often takes the form of formal legal opinions. Opinions issued by the Attorney General are accorded great credence by courts and other government entities. The Attorney General’s Advisory Division serves as the largest law firm in the State, providing legal advice to large state agencies, statewide elected officials and local governments; defending challenges to State laws; initiating or defending lawsuits on behalf of the State; enforcing consumer protection laws and prosecuting complex financial crimes for prosecution; as well as handling appeals statewide from felony convictions.
The Office of the Attorney General is also charged with providing advice to the President via delegation on any Federal law questions that are essential for running the Executive Branch effectively. This function, known as delegated authority, forms part of his constitutional duty of “Taking Care to Execute Law Faithfully.”
The Office of the Attorney General provides informal legal mediation services for individuals who cannot resolve their disputes on their own, and refers complaints regarding specific businesses or State employees to other government agencies. If an individual citizens is looking for legal representation on private matters, they should contact either the Office of Civil Rights and Liberties or one of the 16 state-based legal aid organizations for representation. Furthermore, OAG’s Office of Legal Counsel prepares opinions, legal memoranda, letters for signature by OAG as well as representing OAG in intergovernmental meetings and negotiations as requested.
Litigation
The attorney general carries out a broad range of litigation, including lawsuits to enforce state statutes and regulations and protect the public interest. The Attorney General and the Department of Justice litigate in almost every substantive area of the law, from protecting children from predatory landlords to defending the integrity of New York’s natural resources to filing actions to enforce IOSHA whistleblower complaints and to recoup taxpayer funds in fraud cases.
The Attorney General’s plenary litigation authority is vested in him or her by the Act of 1870, which established the Department of Justice. The Attorney General is the only person authorized to conduct litigation involving a federal agency or officer. Except as otherwise provided by law, no other persons may represent the United States in such matters.
Throughout James’s tenure, she has taken on predatory landlords to protect renters, pursued corruption to protect New Yorkers and our communities, and fought for women’s access to reproductive health care. She has also stood up to big corporations that violate the public trust by polluting and flouting workplace protection laws, and gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a question about citizenship from being added to the census and to protect DACA.
It is the Attorney General’s policy that, in most instances, agencies should be lead counsel for litigation involving their offices and employees. Agency personnel are in the best position to know and learn the facts of a case that arises out of their agency’s activities and to have familiarity with agency practices, statutes, and regulations. Agency counsel is also in the best position to draft written responses to interrogatories and requests for admissions, and to limit discovery on proportionality grounds.
The Office of Civil Litigation serves as the “go to” division for complex and novel legal issues and provides superior representation in a variety of litigation, including contested civil matters; employee misconduct; the investigation and prosecution of public corruption crimes; the investigation and enforcement of consumer fraud and other financial crimes; and environmental and health protection lawsuits. The section is led by the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Litigation and managed by a team of senior supervisory attorneys.
Opinions
Opinions are written interpretations of current law intended to assist State officers who must make decisions during their duties. Opinions should not be seen as new laws or as correcting unintended or undesirable effects of existing provisions; nor are they meant to reflect personal opinions from the attorney general. Though courts often accord great weight to legal opinions issued by the attorney general, they are not binding and an opinion issued may be cancelled or modified at any time by that official.
Requests for formal opinions from the attorney general are typically submitted by State officers such as legislators, District Attorneys and department heads. State agencies may also submit requests if the matter in question involves litigation or requires factual determination; however requests related to municipal ordinance validity would not qualify as formal Attorney General opinions.
An opinion issued by the attorney general does not constitute legal ruling; rather it is a memorandum outlining their interpretation of law based on review of facts and consideration of all pertinent factors. If all criteria required for issuing an opinion are fulfilled by your inquiry, an Opinion Memorandum will then be prepared by an Assistant AG and subjected to extensive reviews by attorneys within his/her office specialized in that subject before approval from the AG himself/herself before being released publicly.
The office posts legal opinions issued shortly after they have been issued to its website shortly thereafter, where they can be searched by year of publication, opinion number/official citation/topic or keyword/phrase from their Conclusion. In addition, this office also maintains a comprehensive book series featuring all their opinions.
Though the role of attorney general has historically been political, several candidates are running to replace incumbent Letitia James in 2022 and some are using the office as a counterweight against President Trump and Governor Cuomo. Queens commercial litigator Michael Henry stands out among these contenders by criticizing James for failing to hold Cuomo accountable over nursing home deaths or legal clashes with Trump. He has taken aim at James for her legal issues against both.
Public Education
The Attorney General is charged with protecting Californians from harm and promoting community safety, while protecting its exceptional natural resources, safeguarding civil rights and fighting identity theft, mortgage-related fraud, illegal business practices and consumer crimes. Their Office provides legal advice to Governor, Legislature and state agencies; with exception to State Ethics Commission and Public Service Commission who each appoint their own counsel; as well as providing guidance to local governments and schools as well as prosecuting criminal cases before Superior Courts or other courts.
The Attorney General’s Office is organized into an Executive Office, five legal divisions, and four specialty units. The Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General oversee these units while the Chief of Staff manages his or her Office.
OGC provides guidance to NYSED on legal matters that pertain to educational equity and student safety. Attorneys within OGC aid NYSED with student discipline matters, employment matters (including union representation), civil rights concerns, special education needs and compliance matters as they pertain to administrative/state/federal laws and compliance.
OGC provides comprehensive labor and employment advice and litigation services to NYC teachers, school-based and central office employees, and other employees – such as training, counseling and advice regarding mandated reporting requirements, human rights laws, employee discipline grievances and proceedings for disciplinary procedures. Furthermore, its attorneys represent DOE in lawsuits alleging discrimination or harassment at work.
OGC serves as the lead agency in New York State in upholding antitrust, consumer protection, securities laws as well as legislation passed by the Legislature, prosecuting Medicaid provider fraud cases and monitoring residential juvenile facilities. Furthermore, its Pro Bono Program Committee oversees volunteer lawyers from OGC who donate their time in providing free legal services for low-income people.
OAG enforces state law regarding hate crime activity and passes laws designed to promote and protect children in schools and other educational institutions. OAG has created a Hate Crimes Prevention and Response Task Force co-chaired by both Attorney General and Superintendent of Education that works on developing strategies to prevent hate crimes in schools while exploring how federal enforcement tools might be applied against threats of violence against school personnel.
