According to its mission statement it exists to provide to the poor "free access to courts, judicial and quasi-judicial agencies, by rendering legal services, counselling(sic) and assistance..."[2] It is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

It is led by the Chief Public Attorney Persida Acosta,[3] who was appointed to the position on February 23, 2001 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

PAO was previously known as the Citizen's Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) which was created as a body under the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 1972 under the Integrated Reorganization Plan.

[4][5] In 2006, the CLAO was renamed as the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) through Republic Act 9406.

[6] The PAO is headed by the Chief Public Attorney whose tenure is not defined by law.