Until 2007, both the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General attended the weekly meetings of the Scottish cabinet, until then–First Minister Alex Salmond ended this in an attempt to "de-politicise the post".

Both the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General remain members of the Scottish Government as the two senior law officers, and may still attend cabinet meetings if legal issues are expected to arise.

As a result, the responsibility of principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government would subsequently pass to the Solicitor General for Scotland who would be required to attend cabinet meetings when necessary.

[5] A consultation of Scottish lawyers in 2021 found an overwhelming majority of those asked were in favour of the Lord Advocate's role to be split.

The Solicitor General is a member of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and may be instructed by the First Minister to investigate matters on their behalf rather than the Lord Advocate.