Reading Room Document

Re: Best Practices for OLC Legal Advice and Written Opinions

This document is a memorandum from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) outlining best practices for providing legal advice and written opinions to the President and executive agencies. The conclusions reached in the document emphasize the importance of OLC's advice being clear, accurate, thoroughly researched, and soundly reasoned. It also highlights the need for candid, independent, and principled advice, even if it is inconsistent with the aims of policymakers. The document presents questions for review, such as the guiding principles for OLC's work, the process for preparing formal written opinions, and the considerations for publication and public disclosure of opinions. It also addresses the need to balance transparency with the protection of sensitive information and internal deliberative processes. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/olc/page/file/1511836/download

June 9, 2022