Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Working alone or in combination, state attorneys general are major players in both American jurisprudence and national policy.

As reflected in the 2012 $27 billion mortgage fraud settlement with the nation's leading banks, state attorneys general, 43 of whom are elected statewide, have made their mark in health care, consumer protection, antitrust law, civil rights, privacy, environment, labor law, reproductive rights, and much more.

Students who take this 2-credit seminar, taught by James Tierney, the former Attorney General of Maine who now serves as the Director of Columbia's National Attorney General Program, and Peter Brann, the former State Solicitor of Maine who is now in private practice litigating nationally on behalf of both public and private entities, will increase their understanding of the intersection of law, policy and politics of state law enforcement. The course also provides students practical guidance on practicing on behalf of or opposed to attorneys general. Attorneys General and their senior staffs regularly visit the class.

The course gives students the option of either writing a paper that will fulfill the Major or Minor Writing Requirement or taking a written examination. Participation in class and in a mind-semester negotiation exercise will be taken into consideration by the Instructors in assigning grades.