Office of Solicitor General

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) supervises all appellate litigation for the State of Texas on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). In addition to approving all civil and criminal appeals in state and federal courts involving the State, its agencies, and its officials, OSG directly handles those appeals determined to be most significant to Texas and to the development of federal and state jurisprudence. OSG also appears on occasion in federal and state trial courts on matters implicating the State's most critical interests. OSG regularly authors amicus curiae briefs for submission to the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts across the nation. In addition, OSG advises other OAG attorneys on complex constitutional and other legal questions.

Established in January 1999, the Texas OSG is expressly modeled after the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice. The federal OSG was created through the Statutory Authorization Act of June 22, 1870, which provides that "[t]here shall be in the Department of Justice an officer learned in the law, to assist the Attorney General in the performance of his duties, to be called the Solicitor General."

The Texas OSG appears regularly before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the intermediate state courts of appeals. Since 1999, OSG attorneys have presented 14 oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court, 61 in the Texas Supreme Court, and hundreds in other federal and state appellate and trial courts, including arguments before every intermediate court of appeals in Texas and three en banc arguments before the Fifth Circuit. OSG has won seven Best Brief Awards from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) for briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Solicitor General of Texas is supported by two Deputies, approximately a dozen Assistant Solicitors General, and a highly dedicated support staff. OSG also hires recent judicial law clerks and briefing attorneys to serve as fellows, and recent law school graduates and current law students to serve as law clerks.

OSG accepts applications for the position of Assistant Solicitor General on a rolling basis. The Office typically hires attorneys with strong academic records and either an appellate clerkship or a demonstrated commitment to the practice of appellate litigation. OSG selects fellows and law clerks on a similar basis. If you would like to be considered, please submit a resume, academic transcript, and writing sample to Linda.Hill@oag.state.tx.us.