Special Counsel Law and Legal Definition
Special counsel is an attorney employed by the state or political subdivision to assist in a particular case when the public interest so requires. The counsel is appointed to fill a particular need. Special counsels are also referred to as special attorneys.
Example of a State Statute (Louisiana) on Special Counsel.
La. R.S. 49:21. Suits to prevent encroachment on state's rights
Special counsel shall be employed to preserve and protect the powers reserved to the State of Louisiana by the tenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, by means of the institution of suits in the name of the State of Louisiana to prevent any governmental agency, including corporations with corporate authority only as approved by the President of the United States, established by the Congress or by the President of the United States under the provisions of any law or resolution of the Congress of the United States, and any officer, agent, or employee thereof, from exercising in this State any power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution of the United States, but reserved by the Constitution of the United States to the State of Louisiana, or expending any public funds, appropriated or made available by the Congress, in the exercise or attempted exercise of that power.
