Retention or Employment of Attorneys
Retention of Outside Legal Counsel

The office of the Attorney General (OAG) serves as the state’s legal counsel and therefore serves as legal counsel to all agencies and institutions of higher education. Agencies and institutions may not retain or select outside counsel without first receiving authorization and approval from the OAG. See Outside Counsel Contracts on the OAG’s website for more information.

If an agency or institution of higher education requires legal services from outside counsel, regardless of the source of funds that would be used to pay for such legal services or the party engaging such counsel, it must first electronically submit to the OAG a Request to Retain Outside Counsel and related documents. Within 10 business days of receiving the electronic documents, the OAG will notify the requesting agency that:

• The agency’s request has been approved and it may proceed with the process of selecting outside counsel.
• The agency’s request has been denied.
  – or –
• The agency must provide the OAG with additional information before a decision to approve or deny the request will be made.

See Outside Counsel Contracts for instructions for submitting a request, OAG contacts and more.

A payment under contract for legal services owed by a state agency is due on the 45th day after the date the agency receives the invoice for the legal services.

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