State Attorneys General

Alston & Bird maintains one of the most experienced state attorneys general teams in the country. We have been representing clients in state, federal, and joint enforcement actions for decades. We have represented state AGs through our team members’ government service as public officials, special assistant attorneys general, or attorneys for the AGs themselves. We bring all of this experience to bear to represent you during state AG investigations and enforcement actions. 

State attorneys general are bringing more enforcement actions on their own or in conjunction with other AGs or federal enforcers in multistate investigations and litigation. Across the country, state AGs use their investigative and prosecutorial powers under consumer, antitrust, environmental, health care, financial services, and cybersecurity and privacy laws. These actions have resulted in seven- to nine-figure recoveries against corporate entities across various industries, highlighting the need to retain outside counsel with direct experience dealing with authorities and in-depth knowledge of how the agencies operate. 

We have long-term professional relationships with many attorneys general and their senior staff. We know how enforcement attorneys and prosecutors think and work; we use that knowledge to implement a strategy that gives you the best chance of reaching a favorable outcome. We have worked with attorney general offices on data breach notification issues, assisted clients responding to AG subpoenas involving consumer protection issues (such as unfair and deceptive trade practices), and convinced a state AG to end an investigation and decide not to intervene on a false claims action. We have prevailed at trial, and we have reached the best settlement to avoid the expense and publicity of a trial.

We bring a multidisciplinary approach to every engagement we handle, tapping into the breadth of experience throughout our firm from within our litigation, corporate, environmental, health care, insurance, financial services, and other practices. Our experience in state AG investigations and enforcement actions crosses industries and state boundaries. 

Our team consists of individuals with experience as former U.S. attorneys; former senior leadership officials with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Criminal, National Security, Tax, and Antitrust Divisions and the offices of the deputy U.S. attorney general and associate U.S. attorney general; and former federal prosecutors, as well as senior staff from the Federal Trade Commission. Our attorneys are also active with state attorneys general. Our attorneys are regularly recognized in top-tier rankings by Chambers USA and by The Best Lawyers in America for the work we handle for our clients. 

• Financial Services: Routinely represent financial services institutions across multiple industries in matters pending before state Attorney Generals. Our team has direct experience managing state Attorney General investigations to conclusion whether through closure without further action, entry into settlements, consent orders, and litigation. This experience includes national banks, mortgage lenders as well as auto financers. Our experience includes:
  • Representing a large global financial institution in a residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) fraud investigation by the New Jersey state attorney general.
  • Represented a leading credit card processor in an investigation by a working group of 26 state attorneys general arising out of a data breach.
  • Represented a mortgage servicer in CFPB and state attorneys general investigations, focusing on mortgage servicing and mortgage securitization issues.
  • We successfully defended a mortgage lender in connection with allegations that the lender had engaged in improper mail solicitation of customers, with the Kansas State Attorney General’s Office ultimately declining to take action against the lender.
  • Represented hedge fund in responding to a civil investigative demand issued by the Attorney General of Massachusetts concerning CDO program. 
• Consumer Fraud and Consumer Protection: Representing companies across various sectors—including retail, online travel, mobile payments, and entertainment—in investigations involving deceptive trade practice and false advertising allegations conducted by individual and multistate groups of state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission.
• Unfair Business Practices: Representing a Southern California-based retail chain in an unfair business practices lawsuit by the California Attorney General’s Office. We recently defeated the government in an extensive injunction proceeding filed in conjunction with the lawsuit.
• Antitrust: Multiple representations involving both single-state and multistate enforcement. Examples include state investigations into licensing practices of a patent pool and implementation of standards applicable to the manufacture of DVDs and DVD players; multistate price-fixing investigations involving airline ticket prices, polypropylene fiber, dairy products, chickens, air bags, and seat belts, among many other areas; and state investigations into pharmaceutical pricing. 
• Data Privacy and Cybersecurity: Defending a major retailer in privacy-related investigations by the state attorneys general of California, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas along with parallel multidistrict litigation.
• Health Care Fraud and State False Claims Acts: Representing all types of health care providers and payors in numerous single- and multistate investigations by state AGs and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units. 
• Hospitals and Health Systems: Obtaining AG approval of corporate transactions, change of control efforts, and other matters on behalf of both for-profit and nonprofit hospital systems. 
• Public Corruption and Government Ethics: Representing a key figure in the “Bridgegate” scandal in parallel investigations by the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey; attorney service as chair of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, the entity that investigates and adjudicates campaign finance and corruption matters.
• Insurance: Managed a massive internal investigation for a top national insurance carrier in response to various attorney general and Department of Insurance inquiries in the wake of high-profile claims brought by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer relating to producer compensation and alleged “bid rigging” activities; representing health insurance entities in state investigations relating to the accuracy of provider directories and online physician ranking tools.
• Securities: Representing clients in securities enforcement actions by state attorneys general involving a range of issues, such as fraud, insider trading, conflicts of interest, accounting practices, and broker-dealer regulations.
• Environmental: Representing the country’s largest glass manufacturer in a dispute with California’s DTSC about alleged mismanagement of air pollution control device sludge. Successfully negotiated a settlement through consent decree and stipulated judgment with the California Attorney General’s Office.
• White Collar: Representing a major food packaging company in a state financial incentives dispute before the North Carolina State Attorney General and state governor’s office.