But Luttig is seen as much more controversial, both because of his record of written opinions and because he ran Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing in 1991 after he'd been confirmed as a judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and that's raised some questions among legal ethics experts.

NPR: Possible Vacancy on High Court

Before that happens, America must square up to some of those ticklish legal and moral questions that drones raise.

ECONOMIST: The ethics of warfare

White is expected to face tough questions from senators about her decade of legal work representing some of the nation's largest banks and corporations.

WSJ: White promises "unrelenting" enforcement at SEC

The mutterings in the legal community are fuelled to some extent by the government's refusal to answer any questions about the appointment process for their Counsel General - how many individuals were in the running, whose advice was given during the process and so on.

BBC: The new CG and some raised eyebrows