On Monday, September 8, Dickstein Shapiro partner JB Kelly moderated a panel at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the State Capital Group (SCG Legal), a global network of over 145 preeminent independent law firms, of which Dickstein Shapiro is a member firm. The panel, "Cooperation & Collaboration Among State Attorneys General: A Perspective from Chief Deputy Attorneys General," offered a behind–the-scenes look at the anatomy of an AG's office and insight on the collaboration that often occurs between offices regarding investigations and enforcement actions. Kevin St. John, Wisconsin Deputy Attorney General, and Katherine Winfree, chief of staff of the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau and former chief deputy of the State of Maryland, spoke on the panel. Some highlights include:

  • National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) meetings, as well as the current NAAG President, often set the tone for what issues AG offices will pursue.
  • AG offices use meetings such as NAAG to develop collaborative relationships and those relationships can result in working together as a multistate group to expand their reach and maximize resources.
  • States involved in a multistate investigation often have varying degrees of participation and may or may not participate in a multistate resolution. Ms. Winfree noted that State AG offices place value on preventing future harm to consumers as well as collecting civil penalties to fund consumer education and future investigations.
  • AG offices collaborate in other ways such as jointly filing amicus briefs, or sending joint letters to Congress or federal regulators. State AGs often join together, especially on matters where they are in opposition to the Federal Government, to increase their impact on issues that are important to their state.

As Deputy AG St. John aptly pointed out, topics at meetings such as NAAG should be of interest to businesses, as they may become the subject of an investigation, even a multistate one. For example, as we have previously reported, after Maryland AG and NAAG President-Elect Douglas Gansler announced that his 2012-2013 Presidential Initiative would relate to privacy and the internet, there was a surge of investigations related to this issue. Businesses faced with an investigation should be prepared for the possibility that multiple AG offices will get involved because these offices can and do collaborate.

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