Nathaniel Lawrence Goldstein was New York State Attorney General from 1943 to 1954, paralleling the three terms of Governor Thomas E. Dewey. A Republican, Goldstein equaled the twelve-year tenure of his Democratic predecessor John J. Bennett Jr. Since the office's creation in 1777, the only New York Attorneys General who served longer were Louis Lefkowitz (1957–78) and Robert Abrams (1978–94).

Jacob Koppel Javits was an American lawyer and politician. During his time in politics, he represented the state of New York in both houses of the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the state's Attorney General. Generally considered a liberal Republican, he was often at odds with his own party. A supporter of labor unions, the Great Society, and the civil rights movement, he played a key role in the passing of civil rights legislation. An opponent of the Vietnam War, he drafted the War Powers Resolution in 1973.