Defending Texas: The Office of the Solicitor General

It is not entirely coincidence that Review of Litigation convened two-day symposium on The Rise of Appellate Litigators and State Solicitors during very same month that Texas Attorney General's office celebrated tenth anniversary of founding of Solicitor General's office. Our office has long enjoyed strong relationship with Law School - and is grateful to Law School and to Review for opportunity to commemorate this milestone. But symposium was well-timed for other reasons as well. In recent years, there has been growing sense in legal community that appellate advocacy involves unique skills and talents, warranting existence of specialized appellate bar. Not long before his appointment as Chief Justice of United States in 2005, John G. Roberts, Jr. noted the rise of Supreme Court and appellate practice departments in major law firms, and a corresponding development on and local government side, as largely phenomenon of past twenty-five years.1 Similarly, National Law Journal recently noted increasing interest among attorneys general nationwide in establishing position of state solicitor general, an office whose remarkable growth in states in past ten years represents one of most significant developments in appellate practices in high court, as well as in other federal and courts.2 This trend is surely not accidental. It may reflect fact that many clients are increasingly demanding this kind of specialization. When it comes to most important and sensitive litigation matters, many private parties and government officials alike believe that their interests are best served when they are represented by legal team of diverse skills and talents. That includes not only exceptional court litigators who are skilled in waging fact disputes at as well as discovery battles outside courtroom. It also includes attorneys who are trained to handle appeals and experienced in challenging constitutional and other purely legal disputes that tend to dominate most difficult appellate matters. These sentiments seem to be shared by one particularly important audience: community of appellate judges. Judge Ruggero Aldisert of U.S. Court of Appeals for Third Circuit once wrote that [a]ppellate advocacy is specialized work. It draws upon talents and skills which are far different from those utilized in other facets of practicing law. Being good lawyer does not mean that you are also qualified appellate advocate.3 Judge Laurence Silberman of U.S. Court of Appeals for D. C. Circuit put point even more bluntly: the skills needed for effective appellate advocacy are not always found - indeed, perhaps, are rarely found - in good lawyers.4 And Justice Antonin Scalia summed up his views with one simple observation: trial judges are fundamentally different from appellate judges.5 So it is no coincidence that Solicitor General's office in Texas was created, and then strengthened, by two attorneys general who had both previously served as justices of Texas Supreme Court: John Cornyn and Greg Abbott. It is because of their commitment to ensuring that enjoys highest quality representation possible - including on appeal - that Texas enjoys reputation it does today in courts nationwide. I. OSG In Texas, Office of Solicitor General - commonly known within agency as OSG - was established in January 1999 as division within Attorney General's office.6 development of specialized appellate division within Texas Attorney General's office paralleled efforts in other states7 - as well as similar changes in private bar. State Bar of Texas, for example, did not have an appellate section until 1987; American Academy of Appellate Lawyers was founded in 1990; and American Bar Association established its Council of Appellate Lawyers in 2000. …