ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the development of the American model to allow comparison with the Australian one. The role of the Attorney General of the United States in providing legal advice to the President is broadly similar to that of the Solicitors-General of the Australian Commonwealth and the States in advising their governments. The Attorney-General is a Minister, traditionally a member of the Cabinet, and must be a Member of Parliament. The constitutional and statutory arrangements that create the United States Attorney General and the Commonwealth Solicitor-General are roughly similar. In contrast, the United States Attorney General is a political appointee who must balance the competing demands of law and politics. Modern Americans think of the Attorney General as a central figure in the executive branch, one closely tied to the President as the nation's chief legal officer. The modern Attorney General has a primary competitor for primacy in providing legal advice to the President.
