What is the purpose of the Office of General Counsel?
Asked by: Audreanne Schroeder II | Last update: October 8, 2025Score: 4.7/5 (19 votes)
The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is the legal team for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), providing quality representation and legal advice on a wide range of highly visible national issues.
What is the role of the Office of general counsel?
The General Counsel is responsible for managing, coordinating, and directing the Commission's enforcement litigation program. He or she also provides overall guidance and management to all components of OGC, including district office legal units.
What does OLC do?
A substantial portion of OLC's resources is devoted to providing legal advice to the White House, the Attorney General, and other Executive Branch agencies on legal issues related to a variety of constitutional and statutory matters of vital national concern.
Which of the following is a responsibility of the Office of general counsel?
The General Counsel is responsible for the following functional areas: Provide advice to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense regarding all legal matters and services performed within, or involving, the Department of Defense. Provide legal advice to OSD organizations and, as appropriate, other DoD Components.
What is the role of the GC?
GC is regarded as a traditional executive role, that of managing the legal compliance and corporate governance of a company. General Counsel handles court negotiations, conveys legal advice to the executives, manages the legal team and oversees compliance regulations.
Office of General Counsel Overview
What is the main function of GC?
Gas chromatography (GC) is an analytical technique used to separate and detect the chemical components of a sample mixture to determine their presence or absence and/or quantities. These chemical components are usually organic molecules or gases.
Who does a general counsel report to?
While it seems best practice today that the GC has a direct reporting line to the CEO he must have the right to bring controversial issues to the Chairman or individual board members without the prior consent of the CEO.
What was one of the main jobs of the general counsel?
The General Counsel is a key member of the executive team and works closely with other senior leaders to ensure that the organization's legal and ethical obligations are met. They also play an important role in shaping the organization's strategy and policies, as well as representing the organization in legal matters.
Does a general counsel have to be a lawyer?
While all general counsels are lawyers, not all lawyers are general counsels. Lawyers may work in a variety of legal roles, including in private practice, government, or nonprofit organizations.
What is the fiduciary duty of general counsel?
Companies rely on general counsel for guidance on complex and high stakes matters, like complaints and allegations of breaching their fiduciary duties to shareholders. General counsel is responsible for ensuring that company executives, management, and board members do not violate their fiduciary duties.
What's the difference between counsel and lawyer?
A lawyer is a general term for someone who is qualified to practice law. A legal counsel is a specific type of lawyer who provides advice and assistance to individuals, organizations, or businesses on legal matters.
What are the two parties in a lawsuit called?
parties - Plaintiffs and defendants (petitioners and respondents) to lawsuits, also known as appellants and appellees in appeals, and their lawyers. petit jury (or trial jury) - A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute.
What does OLC stand for?
OLC is a three-letter initialism (TLA) that may refer to: Oak leaf cluster, a military decoration. Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. Ohio Library Council, professional association for librarians in Ohio. Online Contest (gliding), a glider, hang glider, and paraglider soaring competition.
Why do you need a general counsel?
A strong GC, whose duty lies in the best interests of the company, acts as an informed advisor on novel business issues and helps provide cutting-edge solutions to problems both within and outside the legal realm. There are numerous ways a GC, as opposed to external counsel, can help the board.
Do general counsels go to court?
Depending on the stakes (or the number of lawyers in the department) who goes can vary; when the risks are high, that's when the general counsel herself needs to find a seat in the courtroom every day.
Is general counsel higher than VP?
The VP of Legal often reports directly to the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) or General Counsel (GC). In some organizations, these titles may be used interchangeably, depending on the structure and needs of the business. In organizations without a CLO or GC, the VP of Legal may serve as the top legal executive.
What are the duties of the office of general counsel?
In addition to providing legal assistance and performing legal functions, including the provision of legal advice, litigation, and legislative services, OGC is responsible for performing certain law-related management functions, including managing the Department's ethics program as well as the clearance of its ...
Can you be attorney general without a law degree?
By tradition, persons appointed to the position of Attorney-General have been lawyers. Only two former attorneys-general have not been lawyers, most recently Dr Michael Cullen who held the post in 2005, and again from 2006.
Is general counsel head of legal?
The title “General Counsel” tends to mean the individual who is running the legal department and interfacing with the board, not someone with a reporting relationship to the person who is actually running things.
Who do general counsels report to?
A general counsel, sometimes called GC, chief legal officer, or corporate counsel, is a company's main attorney and primary source of legal advice.. The GC typically reports directly to the CEO, because his or her opinions are integral to business decisions.
How long does it take to become general counsel?
A general counsel is typically required to have at least five years of experience practicing law to qualify for a general counsel role. Look for an associate position where you can work with more senior-level attorneys and obtain the required experience.
Is general counsel considered an officer?
However, the general counsel may be considered (deemed) to be a corporate officer under other laws and rules.
What is the difference between a general counsel and a lawyer?
Historically, general counsel often handled administrative tasks while outside lawyers in private practice handled more complex legal work.
Who investigates for lawyers?
The job of the legal investigator is to assist the attorney in the preparation of litigation. He or she is not a law student or law clerk, but a true professional in his or her own right. The legal investigator's job is to search out and report the facts to which the attorney can apply the law.
Should general counsel attend board meetings?
Something a general counsel and the board have in common is to serve in the role of guardians over an organization. In that way, they must partner together for the good of the organization. In today's world, the GCs may collaborate with board members by attending board meetings regularly.