The Office of Legal Policy (OLP) is responsible for developing policy initiatives of high priority to the Department and the Administration. The Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy serves as the primary policy advisor to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. As the Department’s think tank, OLP provides a space distinct from the Department’s day-to-day work for long-term planning that anticipates and helps to shape the terms of national debate on a wide range of forthcoming legal policy questions.

OLP also performs a high-level coordination role within the Department. OLP often handles special projects that implicate the interests of multiple Department components, and it coordinates the regulatory development and review of all proposed and final rules developed by the Department.

Further, OLP advises and assists the President and the Attorney General in the selection and confirmation of federal judges. It oversees the Department's process for vetting, interviewing, evaluating and seeking confirmation of the nation's judiciary, in close consultation with the White House Counsel.