The SNP government said at the time that they believed Mulholland to have no political affiliation. His appointment was approved by the Scottish Parliament without the need for a vote and he was sworn in as Solicitor General at a ceremony at the Court of Session on 30 May 2007. His appointment was significant in that it was the first time neither the Lord Advocate nor the Solicitor General had been a member of the Faculty of Advocates. Both were invited to join the faculty by its dean, Richard Keen, in October 2008.