A Day in the Life of a County Attorney

Every state is divided geographically into jurisdictions that—except in Alaska and Louisiana—are called counties. And most county governments include a legal department. In most, if not all, counties there is also an elected official who is the head of the primary criminal prosecuting agency for the county—typically called a “state’s attorney,” or “district attorney.” In some states, the title of the elected prosecutor is “county attorney,” and typically when that is the case, that elected official is also the head of the county’s legal department. In other states, the lawyers in the legal department are appointed by the county governing body (typically called a board of supervisors).