ATTORNEY AT LAW, an officer of a court of justice employed by a party in a cause to manage it for him. Appearance by attorney has been allowed in England from the time of the earliest records of the courts of that coun try. Such appearances were first allowed in France by letters patent of Philip le Bel 1290 A.D. No one can, by consent, be the attorney of both the litigating parties in the same action or suit. The agreement of an attorney at law, within the scope of his employment, in general, binds his client (1 Salk. 86) as to amend the record, to refer a cause, not to sue out a writ of error, to strike out a non pros, to waive a judg ment by default, etc. The principal duties of an attorney are to be true to the court and to his client, to attend to the business of his client with prudence, skill and honesty (4 Burr. 2061, 72 Ga. 83) ; to keep his client informed as to the state of his business, and to keep his secrets confided to him as such, and an attorney is privileged from disclosing such secrets when called as a witness (16 N. Y. 180, 29 Vt. 701). An attorney is allowed considerable freedom of speech, and, ordinarily, is not liable for the use of false, defamatory or malicious language, provided it was material to the issues raised by the pleadings (Hastings v. Lusk, 22 Wend. N. Y. 410). He is liable, however, if his language is defamatory, if it can be shown that it was not relevant to the issues, and was used for the purpose of injuring the character of his adversary (1 Barn. & C. 258).
the official legal adviser of a nation or state and the head of its legal department.
of the United States. — In the United States the office of Attorney General was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789; from the beginning this officer was a member of the cabinet, appointed by the Presi dent, and under the provisions of the Act of Congress of 19 Jan. 1866, he is fourth in suc cession, after the Vice-President, to the office of President should a vacancy occur in that office. He is required by statute to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President, and, upon request, to give his opinion to the head of any executive department on any question of law arising in his department and to interpret for the depart ment heads the statutes under which they act; but while he may furnish information to Con gress, he does not render opinions to that body or any of its committees. He passes on the
validity of the title to public lands purchased for the erection of public buildings by the United States; he exercises general superin tendence and direction over attorneys and mar shals of all the districts of the United States and Territories as to the manner of discharg ing their respective duties and over the govern ment penal and reformatory institutions, also advising the President regarding pardon mat ters. Before signing certain classes of bills the President usually consults the Attorney General and also confers with him regarding the appointment of judges and officers of the courts. To him are referred questions involv ing the interpretation of the Constitution and any opinions rendered by his subordinates re garding matters of minor importance are sub ject to his approval. He does not determine questions of fact nor pass upon questions in controversy before the courts; he does not answer hypothetical questions nor are his de cisions subject to review. The published opinions of the Attorney-General have come to be regarded almost as authoritative as court decisions and constitute a body of precedents that have assumed a quasi-judicial character.
As the government's chief advocate the Attorney-General conducts and argues all cases in which the United States is concerned, when ever he deems that the interests of the country require his personal attention; he appears at times in the Supreme Court, but rarely in the inferior courts. If the United States should have an interest in a suit between States, he may appear in order to introduce evidence or argument but not in a manner to make the national government a party to such suit. While suits may not as a matter of right be instituted against the United States, certain classes of claims may be prosecuted in special courts created for that purpose or by laws regarding minor claims, and the Attorney-General exer cises general jurisdiction over such courts.