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HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 3Pt. 2Ch. 6Art. 2§ 12520 Attorney General Special Counsel Limits

§ 12520 Attorney General Special Counsel Limits

Government Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 12520 Attorney General Special Counsel Limits

Key Takeaways

  • •The Attorney General can only hire special lawyers in very specific cases, following strict rules.
  • •These special lawyers can only be hired under two specific sets of rules (Article 3 or Article 4).
  • •The Attorney General can still hire regular lawyers to help state agencies or state workers in certain situations.

Example

If a state worker gets sued for something they did at work, like a police officer accused of wrongdoing.

The Attorney General can hire a lawyer to help defend that worker, but only if it follows the rules in the law.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 12520 Attorney General Special Counsel Limits

(a) The Attorney General may not employ special counsel in any case except pursuant to either of the following: (1)  Article 3 (commencing with Section 12540). (2)  Article 4 (commencing with Section 12550). (b) Subdivision (a) does not affect the right of the Attorney General to employ counsel to represent, or to assist in the representation of, a state agency as defined in Section 11000, including the Attorney General or the Department of Justice, or to represent a state employee if that representation meets any of the standards set forth in paragraph (3), (5), (7), (8), (9), or (10) of subdivision (b) of Section 19130. (Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 626, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2001.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

Attorney Generalspecial counselArticle 3Article 4state agencySection 19130

Related Statutes

  • § 12518 State Land Dispute Authority
  • § 12510 Attorney General'S Authority
  • § 12511 Attorney General'S State Representation
  • § 12511.5 Health Care Provider Defense
  • § 12511.7 Legislature Transparency Act Defense

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 12520.
View Official Source