ALTHOUGH ALL 54 ATTORNEYS GENERAL'S OFFICES ISSUE ADVISORY OPINIONS, THERE IS LITTLE UNIFORMITY OF POWERS AND PROCEDURES IN PERFORMING THIS DUTY FROM OFFICE TO OFFICE, LARGELY BECAUSE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF EACH JURISDICTION TEND TO DICTATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIQUE PROCEDURES. THIS MANUAL IS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF THE VARIOUS PRACTICES CURRENTLY USED AND TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN PREPARING OPINIONS. ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUAL IS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE GENERAL FLOW OF AN OPINION REQUEST THROUGH AN OFFICE ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT STATES' PRACTICES. FIRST, PERSONNEL, ORGANIZATIONAL PROCEDURES, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING ARE CONSIDERED IN A DISCUSSION OF ORGANIZING THE OPINION PROCESS. SECOND, ELEMENTS INVOLVED IN RECEIVING OPINION REQUESTS ARE EXAMINED UNDER REGISTRATION AND NOTATION, EVALUATION AND CLASSIFICATION, AND OPINION ASSIGNMENT. RESEARCH AND DRAFTING PROCEDURES ARE THEN DESCRIBED WITH REFERENCE TO TIME LIMITS, WRITTEN GUIDELINES, OPINION FORMAT, RESOURCE AND MATERIALS, AND FORM OF OPINIONS. COMMITTEE REVIEW AND HIERARCHICAL REVIEW ARE OUTLINED AS THE PRINCIPAL MEANS OF REVIEW AND REVISION. TRADITIONAL INDEXING AND STORAGE AND MICROFORM AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED. FINALLY, ISSUES ARE CONSIDERED IN THE RELEASE AND PUBLICATION OF OPINIONS ARE AUTHORIZATION, SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURE, PUBLICATION FREQUENCY, AND TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS. THE APPENDIX PROVIDES MODEL POLICIES FOR ADVISORY OPINIONS. TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)