State Attorneys General

/Overview

Whether your organization is involved in enforcement actions brought by state AGs, or you are working to position your organization as advantageously as possible in the current climate, our aim is effective representation with minimal disruption.

We are former assistant attorneys general, chiefs, and counsels from criminal and civil enforcement divisions across the US. Our backgrounds position us to conduct sensitive internal investigations, interact with state government authorities, and vigorously defend you when you are a subject of, or witness in, these matters.

We build compliance strategies to avoid state AG exposure—but when enforcement actions are unavoidable, our litigators go to work. We have achieved favorable results for individuals and entities in some of the largest and highest-profile civil and criminal proceedings initiated by state AGs.

/Representative experience

• Decades of experience on the government side of various civil and criminal matters, spanning numerous industries and subject matters that are often unique to state AG matters, including: consumer protection, civil rights, financial and tech fraud, environmental, antitrust and price gouging, False Claims Act (FCA), Civil Investigative Demands (CID), multi-state investigations
• Develop applicable insurance coverage for civil liability, prosecute cross-claims against other responsible parties, and restore trust and confidence in a brand. These are distinct activities, but crucial to the successful representation of clients in state AG actions
• Crisis management and immediate response associated with investigations, including those involving state and federal collaboration
• Collection, production, and review of physical and electronic data; witness preparation advocacy submissions
• Statutory and regulatory compliance on real estate securities matters in New York. Various representation on Martin Act, Executive Law, and Donnelly Act investigations and litigations in New York 
• Litigation against various AG offices for individuals and companies, including matters that began as, or continued through, multi-state AG investigations, and that involve parallel federal government enforcement and regulatory proceedings
• Successfully represented one of the country’s largest real estate companies in an investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office
• Representation of a large pharmaceutical manufacturer in an action commenced by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office alleging that the company violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Statute as a result of off-label promotion and the failure to disclose certain product risk information. We also represented an international pharmaceutical company in an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office involving potential violations of the state gift ban and payment reporting regulations.
• Representation of a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in a federal investigation involving allegations that the company set an inflated “average wholesale price” (AWP) for certain products and then promoted those products to physicians based on the “spread” between the AWP-based Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, and the actual price paid by physicians. The investigation and two related False Claims Act cases were resolved through a civil settlement with no criminal charges against the company. Our attorneys also represented the company in related multidistrict litigation and state court actions brought by various state attorneys general and third-party payors.
• Successful defense of a Fortune 75 company in response to confidential CID in a case involving alleged violations of Chapter 93A and the Massachusetts False Claims Act (MFCA) brought by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office—Public Protection Bureau