Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Over the last two decades, the role of the state attorney general has significantly expanded so as to allow them to be important legal actors employing thousands of assistant attorneys general. In the aftermath of the historic litigation against the tobacco and banking industries, attorneys general continue to make their mark in consumer protection, charities regulation, antitrust law, environmental protection, labor law and immigration enforcement, civil rights rights policy, political corruption and much more. More recently, some attorneys general have launched litigation against the federal government that has the potential of redefining fundamental federalism principles and could strike down the Affordable Care Act.

Working alone or in combination, the state attorneys general are major players in American jurisprudence.

If you are intrigued by the role of attorneys general, or if you think you will need to defend your clients against their efforts, you should consider this two credit seminar that is co- taught by the former Attorney General of Maine, who now serves as th Director of Columbia's National Attorney General Program, and Peter Brann who for almost twenty years served in the Maine Office of Attorney General with much of that time as the Solicitor General. He currently is in private practice where he often litigates against attorneys general.

The course explores the means used by attorneys general to conduct their responsibilies. Attorneys General and their senior staffs regularly visit the class. A paper is required that with permission will fulfil the requirement for either a Major or Minor Writing credit.