State AG Pulse

In Episode 3, Meghan Stoppel and Hannah Cornett recommend that all businesses pay attention to the CFPB’s recently issued guidelines on the use of AI tools in credit writing, since other regulators are likely to follow suit and the impacts go beyond the credit industry.

This episode of State AG Pulse looks at an investigation by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison into student loan providers alleged to have violated consumer protection and registration laws in his state, and the likelihood that it will sweep in other regulators and ripple throughout the debt servicing industry.

Launching off season 3 of State AG Pulse, Stephen Cobb and Emily Yu go behind the headlines on a multi-district litigation related to PFAS or “forever chemicals” playing out in district court. Despite a proposed settlement in the range of $10 - $12 billion, AGs are concerned about whether the amount will be sufficient to cover the needed remediation, and whether the manufacturers will have the fin...

To wrap up season 2 of AG Pulse, General Rokita of Indiana talks with Jerry Kilgore and Chris Allen about state sovereignty and the role of the states as laboratories of democracy. General Rokita bemoans the uptick in federal interventionism and the threat it presents to state authority as enshrined in the Constitution, illustrating his point of view by drawing on developments in privacy law in ge...

Elected in November 2022, Vermont AG Charity Clark has hit the ground running, applying herself across a broad range of issues in the state from consumer protection, the environment, and privacy rights to domestic violence and women’s reproductive health.

Organized retail crime or ORC is one of the few bipartisan issues that lawmakers at both the federal and state levels agree has no upside for consumers or retailers, and regulators are stepping up. Artificial intelligence or AI, on the other hand, has the potential to do a great deal of good, provided it can be harnessed and regulated appropriately. Listen to Episode 10 of State AG Pulse to hear L...

In Season 3 of State AG Pulse which will launch in Fall 2023, we’ll be bringing you a new approach to state AG news. Each week we’ll choose one story from our curated summary of the week’s state AG news to explore in greater detail, tease out the key themes and provide new insights into the role of State AGs. In this special sneak preview, Chris Allen and Emily Yu dig into a story from last week’s...

Whether she is preparing to enforce Iowa’s new privacy laws, or working through solutions with businesses in the state, newly-elected Iowa AG Brenna Bird’s philosophy is underpinned by a common sense approach. In conversation with fellow Midwesterner Meghan Stoppel and former Virginia AG Jerry Kilgore, she talks about helping crime victims, recalibrating the office to best serve Iowans, and juggli...

State AGs have a wide range of tools they can use to hold companies accountable. Milton Marquis, Jerry Kilgore and Ann-Marie Luciano explore AGs’ power to prevent anticompetitive business conduct ranging from no-poach agreements and illegal non-competes to collusion and price-fixing.

Attorney General Keith Ellison has counseled Minnesota through a period of dramatic social and economic change in the wake of the pandemic, including the nationwide social justice protests in connection with the shooting of George Floyd by a police officer in May 2020. In conversation with Lori Kalani and Chris Allen, he talks about the demands on his office, his new hires and how he is collaborat...

Even when state AGs are not specifically authorized in a particular area, they can still be highly influential on their federal counterparts when it comes to regulation, enforcement, rulemaking and interpretation of statutes. Our team digs into state/federal collaboration: the who, what, why and how.

New Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers describes himself as a very strong conservative who believes in openness in relationships and is committed to ensuring that people feel that they are being heard. In conversation with Lori and Meghan, he expands on the philosophy that underpins his dealings with AG office staff, businesses and state AG colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

State AGs can be powerful players when it comes to state policymaking and are increasingly weighing in on proposed federal policy and rulemakings. In New York, AG James has been deferential to state and local policymakers while often collaborating with other state AGs on issues NY state voters and legislators care about. In this episode we compare and contrast the New York model with the ways AGs...

Following his recent reelection, Lori Kalani and Ann-Marie Luciano talk with Attorney General Kwame Raoul about some of the challenges his office faced in his first term and how he led the office though them. From COVID, to a major cyberattack, to national assaults on voting rights, General Raoul explains how those challenges have impacted his priorities going into his second term, and made his of...

In this episode we draw back the curtain on attorney general settlements, including an AG’s statutory authority and motives, and the factors that determine the size and composition of a settlement, and provide insights to help businesses negotiate for the best possible outcome.

In the first episode in Season Two, new Virginia AG Jason Miyares dispels the myth that AGs are anti-business. He talks about how he views businesses as victims when it comes to data breaches and seeks to work with them rather than blame them.

In this special post-election episode, host Lori Kalani talks with her partners Jerry Kilgore, Milton Marquis, Paul Connell and Mira Baylson about the outcomes in last Tuesday’s state AG races and the issues and trends that played into the results.

Bernie makes his final predictions before we return after the 2022 general election to analyze the results. He, Lori and Mira review the incumbents and the challengers, talk about who may ride in on whose coattails, and speculate on the make-up of what looks like a bumper freshman class of AGs entering office in 2023.

With little air between them, and similar left-of-center positions and platforms, the three Democratic candidates vying for the Massachusetts AG’s office need to find other ways to differentiate themselves in the minds of voters. Bernie, Mira and Milton, who previously worked in the MA AG’s office, offer their theories on what will make the difference to Massachusetts primary voters on September 6...

Winner Takes All in Kansas by Cozen O'Connor

Arizona’s demographics are changing, and this now purple state is in many ways a national bellwether. With a crowded Republican field in the down-ballot AG race, Jerry Kilgore and Paul Connell postulate that it’s money that will separate the candidates and determine AG Brnovich’s successor. They discuss the candidates that have it… and those that don’t.

In this week’s episode, which is chock full of predictions, Lori, Bernie and Chris engage with Sean Rankin, President of DAGA, on his perceptions of the red wave and Democratic winners and losers. They discuss the complex interplay between state and national politics, which Sean likens to a chess match, the Democratic Party’s priorities for incumbent protection, and some potential surprises coming...

The two leading contenders for Maryland AG come from very different backgrounds: Anthony Brown is a past Maryland Lieutenant Governor, Congressman and long-time politician. Katie O’Malley, while she comes from a storied political family, has built her career as a District Court Judge in Baltimore City. In this week’s podcast, host Bernie and his State AG Group colleagues Milton Marquis and Chris A...

In this week’s episode, Lori gets together with fellow State AG Group members Maria Colsey Heard and Ann-Marie Luciano to talk about the evolution of the DC Office of the Attorney General from a municipal office into a national powerhouse, Karl Racine’s legacy as its first elected AG, and how each of the candidates is likely to follow through on that legacy. They reflect on this year’s contentious...

In this week’s episode, Lori and fellow State AG Group team member Mira Baylson are in conversation with former AGs Frank Sue Del Papa of Nevada and Betty Montgomery of Ohio, both phenomenal leaders with distinguished track records of achievement in their states. They talk about the overall rise in the number of multi-states and provide their perspectives on the era-defining Master Tobacco settlem...