Role of the Office of the Solicitor General
As Florida’s chief appellate attorney, the Solicitor General serves the Attorney General in defending the interests of the people of Florida in state and federal court. The Office of the Solicitor General is responsible for handling the State’s most sensitive and complex litigation, supervising the State’s civil and criminal appeals, and advising the Attorney General, especially on amicus curiae matters and multi-state litigation. The Solicitor General’s staff includes eight attorneys and an administrative assistant. Aside from his duties within the Office of the Solicitor General, the Solicitor General serves as the Richard Ervin Visiting Professor at the Florida State University College of Law.
Henry Whitaker became Florida’s Solicitor General in July 2021. He came to the position after four years of serving in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, including as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, where he advised the White House Counsel’s Office, the Attorney General, and cabinet secretaries on a range of important and complex legal issues. Before that, Solicitor General Whitaker worked on the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for almost nine years, arguing more than 40 appeals in the federal appellate courts. He clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after graduating magna cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Yale College.