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Office of Legal Counsel

Office of Legal Counsel Wooden Door Sign

About the Office

By delegation from the Attorney General, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel provides legal advice to the President and all executive branch agencies.  The Office drafts legal opinions of the Attorney General and provides its own written opinions and other advice in response to requests from the Counsel to the President, the various agencies of the Executive Branch, and other components of the Department of Justice.  Such requests typically deal with legal issues of particular complexity and importance or those about which two or more agencies are in disagreement.  The Office is also responsible for reviewing and commenting on the constitutionality of pending legislation.

All executive orders and substantive proclamations proposed to be issued by the President are reviewed by the Office of Legal Counsel for form and legality, as are various other matters that require the President’s formal approval.

In addition to serving as, in effect, outside counsel for the other agencies of the Executive Branch, the Office of Legal Counsel plays a special role within the Department itself.  It reviews all proposed orders of the Attorney General and regulations requiring the Attorney General’s approval.  It also performs a variety of special assignments referred by the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General.

The Office of Legal Counsel is not authorized to give legal advice to private persons.

General Information

Contact

Office of Legal Counsel
202-514-2051

New from OLC

January 17, 2025:

Volumes 41, 42, 43, and 44 of Op. O.L.C.—covering the years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively, and soon to be printed and bound—are available on the Opinions by Volume page.

The individual opinions from these four volumes, as they will soon appear in print, are available on the Opinions by Date and Title page.  Volume 41 comprises eight items previously published online in slip form. Volume 42 comprises ten items previously published online in slip form. Volume 43 comprises seventeen items previously published online in slip form. Volume 44 comprises eight items previously published online in slip form, as well as the following five items not previously published online:

December 31, 2024:

December 9, 2024:

November 14, 2024:

September 6, 2024:

June 4, 2024:

May 16, 2024:

April 16, 2024:

April 5, 2024:

December 1, 2023:

February 10, 2023:

January 3, 2023:

November 2, 2022:

The following opinion has been published:

October 28, 2022:

The following opinion has been published:

October 20, 2022:

The following opinions have been published:

September 22, 2022:

The following opinion has been published:

August 30, 2022:

The following opinion has been published:

August 24, 2022:

The following opinion has been published:

August 23, 2022:

The following opinion has been published:

January 26, 2022:

The following opinion has been published: