State Attorneys General

Sophisticated Defense for Multi-State and Individual AG Matters

Covington handles both State AG investigations and litigation—often in parallel with pending federal matters with authorities such as the DOJ, FTC, or Congress and class action litigation. We manage large, multi-state investigations to individual state inquiries and small-state coalitions. We tailor our strategy to the dynamics of each matter to ensure effective and efficient resolution.

Covington has extensive experience handling investigations and litigation premised on a broad range of claims. For example, we have defended companies against alleged violations of deception, unfairness, or unlawful conduct under states’ consumer protection laws based, for example, on practices related to cybersecurity, data protection, ESG, social media content, and health-related claims. We’ve defended companies against state False Claims Act (FCA) statutes, as well as defending against allegations grounded in state subject-matter-specific statutes like gambling, privacy, child and teen safety, and human trafficking laws. We have successfully represented clients in some of the most significant recent State AG-led matters—defending Fortune 500 companies across industries. We employ creative defense strategies to narrow or defeat claims and shape favorable outcomes.

Deep Bench, Seamless Coordination

Lawyers in our government litigation, white collar, class action, privacy, cybersecurity, consumer protection, antitrust, and other practices work together seamlessly to deliver investigative, litigation, and subject-matter expertise. Because State AG investigations frequently run in parallel with or give rise to class actions, congressional and other federal investigations, and international disputes, we regularly coordinate with our class action, congressional investigations, and global regulatory colleagues to ensure a strategic, coordinated defense. By handling investigations, litigation, and parallel proceedings within the same firm, we create efficiencies and deliver superior outcomes through a unified strategy.

Our team includes former senior officials from the U.S. DOJ, FTC, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and various state, federal, and international enforcement agencies. We maintain active engagement with law enforcement and regulatory authorities, enabling us to anticipate their priorities and guide clients in resolving matters efficiently and effectively.

Strategic Counsel Across the Enforcement Cycle

Whether engaging clients proactively to mitigate risk, responding to fast-moving subpoenas and civil investigative demands, or actively litigating, we bring deep subject-matter experience and strong internal coordination to bear at every stage of the enforcement process. We work closely with clients to pursue quick closures of matters without enforcement, settlement or other reasonable resolutions of matters, and when settlement is not possible or advisable, we vigorously defend their interests in litigation. Our team also helps clients manage reputational risk, minimize exposure to follow-on litigation, and align their enforcement response with broader crisis communications and public policy strategies. And when clients are interested in pursuing affirmative litigation challenging state laws and regulations defended by State AGs, we bring deep experience and a track record of success.

State AG Capabilities In-Depth

• Antitrust: State AG antitrust investigations often occur alongside federal investigations by the DOJ, FTC, or Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Our antitrust lawyers are skilled at handling these parallel investigations coordinating efforts to navigate both multi-state and individual state actions. We have especially deep experience with State AG investigations in California and New York.
• Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations: Every state and Washington, DC has its own consumer protection statutes prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. These statutes are broad, and State AGs can initiate enforcement with a low threshold of evidence—often resulting in significant penalties and injunctive relief. Our lawyers have successfully guided clients through State AG investigations involving advertising, marketing, and consumer product safety issues.
• Data Privacy/Cybersecurity: In addition to deception and unfairness claims related to privacy and cyber-related practices, our team routinely defends companies against claims under state comprehensive privacy, children’s, biometric, and health privacy laws as well as data broker claims.
• Minor Online Safety: We defend clients in responding to state AG investigations alleging violations of state minor online safety laws. We work with our clients to develop strategies for responding that minimize legal and reputational risks, while identifying weaknesses in the states’ claims and constitutional issues in enforcement.
• Financial Services: Our financial services regulatory lawyers have deep experience advising businesses targeted by State AGs and other state financial regulators. We regularly counsel clients on enforcement and compliance issues involving state financial services statutes —particularly in areas such as consumer payments, lending, and federal preemption. With a strong understanding of our clients’ operations, we are well positioned to develop effective strategies for responding to State AG investigations and mitigating future enforcement risk.
• Pharma: State AGs have long been active in the pharmaceutical space, frequently using their broad consumer protection and unfair trade practices statutes, as well as their FCA statutes, to challenge a wide range of industry practices. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing pharmaceutical companies in high-stakes State AG investigations and enforcement actions involving allegations such as deceptive marketing, improper distribution practices, and violations of pricing and reimbursement laws. We have handled both individual and multistate matters, often in parallel with federal enforcement actions, and have successfully resolved investigations to avoid litigation or limit exposure. Drawing on deep knowledge of the industry and the complex regulatory environment in which our clients operate, we work closely with companies to develop coordinated, strategic responses that address legal risk while protecting business priorities.

Recognized Experience, National Impact

Our integrated litigation and investigations team has played a leading role in some of the most complex and high-profile matters involving State AGs, including defending companies in thousands of lawsuits while simultaneously managing multi-state investigations involving dozens of AGs—several of which have drawn national attention and been recognized in the media for their scale and significance:

• Recognized by AmLaw Litigation Daily for our successful representation of TikTok against multiple State AGs mounting legal challenges. Notably, Covington obtained a preliminary injunction against the state of Montana’s ban of TikTok, and defeated attempts by multiple State AGs to secure preliminary injunctions against TikTok relating to its app store age ratings.
• Serving as lead trial counsel for Meta in hundreds of mass tort cases filed across the country on behalf of school districts, over 40 State AGs, and the parents of teens in novel claims alleging harm to teens from excessive exposure to social media platforms. The Daily Journal recognized Covington’s successful defense of Meta in the Social Media Cases as one of its Top Verdicts of 2024, highlighting it among the largest and most significant trial outcomes in California that year.
• Represented Uber in connection with a data security incident, including in multi-year investigations by State AGs and the FTC. Covington’s role as lead coordinating counsel in securing a no-penalty non-prosecution agreement with DOJ led to a recognition by AmLaw Litigation Daily.
• Representing McKesson in the national opioid litigation, including successfully resolving nationwide, multi-state AG investigations and serving as lead trial counsel in three of the highest-stakes civil trials in U.S. history. We have defended McKesson against “public nuisance” lawsuits brought by private plaintiffs and government entities in every state. AmLaw Litigation Daily highlighted the scope and complexity of this work in a feature on Covington’s team, underscoring our ability to manage large-scale litigation and regulatory exposure simultaneously.

While we’re widely recognized for our legal, substantive, and political expertise in navigating high-stakes, high-visibility matters, we’re also proud of the victories that don’t make headlines—the subpoenas never issued, the investigations that stayed quiet, and the executives who never appeared on C-SPAN.