The Office of the Senate Legal Counsel was created by Title VII of the Government Ethics Act of 1978.1 The original legislation would have created an Office of the Congressional Legal Counsel to serve both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but House conference participants rejected a joint office because they felt the House and Senate had legal concerns. slightly different.2 The Office of the Senate Legal Counsel provides legal assistance and representation to senators. Committees and officers and employees of the Senate on matters relating to their official duties. The Office is headed by the Senate Legal Counsel and the Deputy Legal Counsel, appointed pro tempore by the President on the recommendation of the majority and minority leaders. The firm`s professional staff includes three lawyers and a support staff. Services are available upon request. For more information on the legislative process and the work of Congress, see crs.gov/analysis/Pages/CongressionalOperations.aspx. The office also provides legal advice to senators, committees, officials and staff regarding privileges such as speaking and debating, executive, Fifth Amendment and client lawyers; legal issues arising from the constitutional service; Tax exemptions; the interpretation and application of the Committee`s rules of procedure; and interactions with the executive. The Office of the Advocate General of the Senate is located in Room 642 of the Senate Hart Office Building. Requests for assistance can be made in person, in writing, by telephone (4-4435) or by fax (4-3391). For more information on the Office`s policies, procedures and services, visit the Office`s website in webster.senate.gov/other/legal/home.html. The Office is headed by the Legal Counsel of the Senate and the Deputy Legal Counsel, appointed by the Speaker pro tempore of the Senate on the recommendation of the majority and minority leaders in the Senate.5 The professional staff consists of an Assistant General Counsel, three lawyers and support staff.
The office reports to the Joint Leadership Group and functions as a non-partisan office that serves as an institution for the Senate. The office also provides legal advice on office management and employment issues. However, matters arising from the Congressional Accountability Act are primarily dealt with by the Senate`s Chief Legal Counsel for Employment. The Office provides legal assistance and representation to senators, committees, public servants and Senate staff in matters relating to their official duties. The office`s statutory duties include: Although the idea of an autonomous legal adviser in Congress had been discussed for several decades, the events of the 1970s encouraged legislators to act. The lengthy hearings of the Subcommittee on the Separation of Powers of the Senate Judiciary Committee, combined with congressional involvement in Watergate investigations, suggested that there were potential conflicts of interest in the use of the Department of Justice as congressional legal counsel.3 In addition, members` individual experiences with private lawyers had sometimes been unsatisfactory; Observers agreed that specialized experts should be called upon to deal with legal issues affecting Congress.4 “Legal Counsel for Congress: Protecting Institutional Interests,” p. 137. Rebecca May Salokar, “Legal Counsel for Congress: Protecting Institutional Interests”, Congress and the Presidency, Band 20, Nr. 2 (Herbst 1993), S.
137. 2 U.S.C. §288c. Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter U.S. Congress, Senate, Riddick`s Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practice, 101st Cong., 2nd Sess., S.Doc. 101-28 (Washington: GPO, 1992), pp. 1236-1247. United States Congress, Senate, Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Separation of Powers, Congressional Representation and Congressional Interests in the Courts, Anhörungen, 94th Cong., 2nd Sess., 12. December 1975 and 19.
February 1976 (Washington: GPO, 1976). P.L. 95-521, 92 Stat. 1824, 1875 (1978), 2 U.S.C. §288.
