Crown Solicitor's Office
Common Questions
What is the Crown Solicitor's Office?
The Crown Solicitor's Office is the South Australian Government's legal service. The Office is sometimes called "Crown law" or by its acronym "the CSO". It is part of the Attorney-General's Department and falls within the Justice Portfolio.
How many staff does the CSO have?
The CSO has approximately 170 lawyers and 80 support staff.
What sort of legal work does the CSO do?
The CSO undertakes a wide range of work across the full spectrum of government operations. For example, it's work ranges from constitutional law, native title, employment law, large property, commercial, and infrastructure matters, through to major litigation.
Can a member of the South Australian public get advice from the CSO?
No, the CSO is not a general public legal advisory service. General legal enquiries should be directed to Legal Services Commission (08 8463 3555) or the Law Society (08 8229 0222) who can give telephone advice or refer you to a solicitor who may be able to assist you.
Is the CSO the same as a large private law firm?
The CSO is similar in many respects to a large private law firm. There are however some differences. The CSO only has one client, that is the Government of South Australia. The government has many agencies and divisions but fundamentally all of the CSO's work is undertaken on behalf of SA Government. Another difference between the CSO and a private law firm is that the CSO is not required to make a profit. The CSO is required to cover its operating costs within a budget, and act in an efficient, effective and accountable manner.
Does the CSO have monopoly of government work?
No, but there are limitations on the way which government agencies are able to engage private law firms to ensure accountability and appropriate expenditure of funds. This is done mainly to appropriately manage the total amount of government expenditure on the provision of legal services. Generally government agencies use the CSO unless they have been exempted by the Crown Solicitor or by Cabinet.
What is the outposted lawyer program?
Approximately forty CSO staff are lawyers outposted to other state government agencies. This means that they operate as Crown Solicitor staff but work within legal units located in client agencies. As outposted lawyers, CSO staff work within an agency for varying periods, typically one to three years. Depending on the size of the agency, our outposted lawyers may work in workgroups of up to five lawyers. Our outposted lawyers work closely with their particular client group so they are able to gain a good understanding of the clients business needs. Outposted lawyers work with management at a high level in government where their expertise can be utilized.
Print this page
