Cal. Gov. Code § 11042

(a) For purposes of promoting fiscal efficiency and economy, no state agency shall employ any in-house counsel to act on behalf of the state agency or its employees in any judicial or administrative adjudicative proceeding in which the agency is interested, or is a party as a result of office or official duties, or contract with outside counsel for any purpose, unless the agency has first obtained the written consent of the Attorney General pursuant to Section 11040.

(b) The Attorney General may provide written consent for a state agency to employ in-house counsel to represent the agency or its employees in any judicial or administrative adjudicative proceeding in whatever manner the Attorney General deems most effective and consistent with the intent of this article. However, a state agency shall obtain written consent for the use of outside counsel for a matter or matters for which the outside counsel is to be engaged before the execution of each contract with the outside counsel for the matter or matters.