As states' chief law enforcement officers, state attorneys general are vested with broad authority to represent the public interest while simultaneously serving as counsel to state government.
Founded and led by Professor James E. Tierney, the former Attorney General of Maine, StateAG.org provides insight into the multifaceted responsibilities of this office by examining the emerging issues and areas of jurisdiction in which state attorneys general play an increasingly important role.
AG 101
An introduction to the history, structure and function of the office of state attorney general.
AG Ethics
Attorneys general have varied responsibilities that are defined by their constitutions, statutes and the common law. It is often difficult to define the ethical duties of their office, especially in light of their dual capacities as representatives of the public interest, while defending various organs of state government. What are the ethical duties of a state attorney general when these dual roles conflict?
Teaching
The Role of the State Attorney General
James E. Tierney has been teaching a seminar on the role of the state attorney general since 2000 when it was first offered at Columbia Law School. The current iteration of the course, taught with with former Maine Solicitor General Peter Brann, is being offered at Harvard Law School and also taught in over twenty law schools.
James E. Tierney
StateAG.org was founded and is led by Professor James E. Tierney, the former Maine Attorney General (1980-1990) and former Director of the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School (2003-2016).
Mr. Tierney is currently a Lecturer-in-Law at Harvard Law School, where he also serves as a clinic director.
In the Press
“I see attorneys general standing up and doing what is right, oftentimes without anybody knowing it and oftentimes at great political peril, and taking positions that I may fundamentally disagree with, but doing so from an ethical basis…and their sense of what’s best in the public interest of the states.”