Copyright Anchorage Daily News
Alaska’s newly appointed attorney general, Stephen Cox, said Monday that he was creating a new role to oversee Alaska’s “appellate advocacy” and appointing an Indiana attorney to fill it. Cox, who himself became a member of the Alaska Bar earlier this year and was appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to lead the state’s Department of Law in August, appointed Jenna Lorence to serve as Alaska’s solicitor general. Lorence does not currently reside in Alaska and is not a member of the Alaska Bar Association. She is expected to move to Alaska later this year, a department spokesperson said, and will be permitted to practice law in Alaska under a provisional license until she is admitted to the Alaska Bar. Lorence graduated from law school in 2017 and most recently served as deputy solicitor general in Indiana, a position she held for close to two years. Cox said in a statement that Lorence “will help amplify Alaska’s voice in the courts, deepen our collaboration with other state allies, and ensure that we continue to defend both the rule of law and the interests of Alaskans.” [Dunleavy administration contracts national law firm to review investment of state savings] Since heading up the Alaska Department of Law, Cox has stepped up the number of amicus briefs joined by Alaska — in which the state weighs in on legal matters in which it is not a direct party. Department of Law spokesperson Sam Curtis said Lorence will “shape Alaska’s participation in significant constitutional and multi-state cases, work closely with other states on issues that affect Alaska’s interests, and provide strategic oversight on major appellate and policy matters.” Among the topics addressed by Cox in briefs he signed last month are limits on the participation of transgender girls in girls’ sports, the rights of cake bakers and other business owners to deny service to same-sex couples, the applications of the Voting Rights Act, and the responsibility — or lack thereof — of oil companies to clear up defunct infrastructure. With the appointment of Lorence, Cox changed the titles of longtime Alaska attorneys who previously served as the state’s solicitors general for civil and criminal appeals. Until the creation of the new role, Jessie Alloway was listed on the department’s website as solicitor general for civil appeals. Alloway has worked for the Alaska Department of Law since 2011, serving as solicitor general for civil appeals since 2021. Tamara DeLucia was listed as the state’s solicitor general for criminal appeals. DeLucia has worked for Department of Law since 2005, serving as solicitor general for criminal appeals since 2017. Cox named both Alloway and DeLucia deputy solicitors general. “Jessie and Tamara lead two of the finest appellate teams in the country,” Cox said in a statement. “This new addition will build on their success — linking their outstanding work with a unified strategy that advances the Department’s broader mission and strengthens Alaska’s position in the courts.” Cox created the new solicitor position by repurposing a vacant position within the Department of Law, a spokesperson said. Lorence is expected to earn a salary of nearly $150,000.
