- a law officer who maintains the rights of the state in suits affecting the public interest, next in rank to the attorney general.
- the chief legal officer in some states.
- the law officer of the U.S. government next below the Attorney General, having charge of appeals, as to the Supreme Court.
- (in Britain) the law officer of the Crown ranking next to the Attorney General (in Scotland to the Lord Advocate) and acting as his assistant
- (in New Zealand) the government's chief lawyer: head of the Crown Law Office and prosecutor for the Crown
