Attorney General of New York
Head of the New York Department of Law
The attorney general of New York, also known as the New York attorney general (NYAG), is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch colonial government of New Netherland.
Democrat Letitia James currently serves as attorney general, in office since January 1, 2019.
Functions
The attorney general advises the executive branch of state government as well as defends actions and brings proceedings on its behalf. The attorney general acts independently of the governor of New York. The department's regulations are compiled in title 13 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR).
Organization
The legal functions of the Department of Law are divided primarily into five major divisions: Appeals and Opinions, State Counsel, Criminal Justice, Economic Justice and Social Justice.
Chief deputy attorney general
Harlan Levy (2011–2015)
Solicitors General
Ruth Kessler Toch (1966–1979)
Shirley Adelson Siegel (1979–1982)
Robert Hermann (1983–1986)
O. Peter Sherwood (1986–1991)
Jerry Boone (1991–1994)
Victoria A. Graffeo (1995–1996)
Barbara Gott Billet (1996–1998)
Preeta D. Bansal (1999–2001)
Caitlin Halligan (2001–2007)
Barbara D. Underwood (2007–present)
Terms of office
From 1684 to 1777, when New York was under the British colonial government, the attorney general was appointed by the British crown, or the colonial governor on its behalf. In 1693, the attorney general earned a salary of 50 pounds.
From 1777 to 1822, the attorney general was appointed by the Council of Appointment.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Attorney General of New York” is head of the New York Department of Law. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Attorney, General and York, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “head of the New York Department of Law” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7013056. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1626, 2019, 2011 and 2015.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Attorney General of New York” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.