Solicitor General for New South Wales
Solicitor General for New South Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General. They can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney General's absence. The Solicitor General acts alongside the Crown Advocate, and Crown Solicitor, and serves as one of the legal and constitutional advisers of the Crown and its government in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Solicitor General is addressed in court as "Mr Solicitor" or "Ms Solicitor". Despite the title , the position is usually held by a barrister, and since 1925 has been a Queen's Counsel or Senior Counsel. Previously a political appointment like the Attorney General is today, it has been separate from parliament since 1922 and since 1969 the Solicitor General has been a statutory office connected with the Department of Justice. History and function. The Solicitor General operates under the provisions of the "Solicitor General Act 1969". Section 2 of the act stipulates that the Solicitor General must be "an Australian lawyer of at least 7 years’ standing" and must not be a Minister of the  Crown. The retirement age is set at 72. The Solicitor General acts as Counsel for the Crown in the High Court of Australia and other courts, and advises the Attorney General on civil and criminal matters, including issues of constitutional law. Until 1987, the Solicitor General had the power to initiate Crown appeals at the Court of Criminal Appeal in NSW, it then became the responsibility of the Director of Public Prosecutions. While John Plunkett was the first NSW Barrister to be appointed a Queen's Counsel, this was on 6 June 1856 after he had retired as Attorney General . The first person who was a Queen's Counsel at the time of his appointment as Solicitor General was John Hargrave . Cecil Weigall was appointed Solicitor General in 1922 and appointed King's Counsel in 1925. Harold Snelling was a Queen's Counsel at the time of his appointment. From 1969 when the position of Solicitor General was converted to a statutory office, only a person who was a Queen's Counsel could be appointed Solicitor General. The requirement was removed in 1993 when the appointment of Queen's Counsel was abolished in NSW. Solicitor General for New South Wales