The Center for State Enforcement of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Laws, Inc.
The State Center
Helping State Attorneys General protect consumers by providing access to training, technical services, legal resources, and investigative, economic and other expert support.
Education & Training
Every year the State Center supports through grants multiple educational and training programs for both attorney and non-attorney employees of State Attorneys General offices across the country.
Investigation & Litigation
The State Center offers grants for investigative and litigation resources to help State Attorneys General more quickly assess issues and pursue enforcement actions, including access to expert services and other services.
Projects & Resources
The State Center develops resources of interest to state enforcers and the larger enforcement community, such as the development of the State Action Primer and training presentations prepared for our Antitrust Bootcamp.
Upcoming Events and News
In July, 2023, the State Center partnered with the National Association of Attorneys General in sponsoring the Consumer Protection Northwest Region Training. The training, hosted by the Oregon Attorney General’s Office was attended by AAGs, investigators and consumer complaint analysts from the Pacific Northwest and provided education on current issues and best practices.
In July, 2023, the State Center partnered with the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at the Loyola University School of Law (Chicago) for a second Antitrust Boot Camp. This education and training program offered lectures and other presentations on antitrust fundamentals for staff attorneys in State Attorneys General’s offices with less than five year’s experience in antitrust practice.
Between January and June, 2023, the State Center sponsored a dozen Tech 101 Workshops for State Attorneys General’s offices, all led by Anne Kohlbrenner, a 4th year Ph.D. Computer Science student at Princeton University. The workshops followed a November pilot workshop, created in collaboration with the National Association of Attorneys General and Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy.
On February 14, 2023, the State Center, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of Attorneys General, provided a program on the use and potential for abuse of attorney-client privilege for state antitrust enforcers.
On November 16, 2022, the State Center partnered with the National Association of Attorneys General and Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy in hosting a workshop for Attorney General staff on tools and techniques for Internet-related investigation. The principal presenter was Anne Kohlbrenner, a 4th year Ph.D. Computer Science student at Princeton University. Assisting in the presentation was State Center Board Member Mihir Kshirsagar.
On June 8, 2022, the State Center partnered with Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy in hosting a workshop entitled Regulating Data-Driven Decision Making for the State Attorneys General’s Offices. Keynote addresses were provided virtually by Commissioner Noah J. Phillips of the Federal Trade Commission and Director Rohit Chopra of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with on-site presentations and panel discussions involving Seth Frotman, General Counsel for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Charles “Chuck” Cowan, Analytic Focus, LLC; Jennifer King, PhD, Privacy and Data Policy Fellow, Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Alexandra Korolova, PhD, WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Southern California; Jonathan Mayer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs, Princeton University; Alan Mislove, PhD, Assistant Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University; Arvind Narayanan, PhD, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University; and Christo Wilson, PhD, Associate Professor, Khoury College of Computer Science, Northeastern University.
On January 20, 2022, Board members Cynthia Coffman’s and Greg Zoeller’s article, “How the State Center Supports the Antitrust and Consumer Protection Efforts of the Attorney General Community,” describing the work of the State Center, appeared in the NAAG Attorney General Journal: https://www.naag.org/attorney-general-journal/how-the-state-center-supports-the-antitrust-and-consumer-protection-efforts-of-the-attorney-general-community/
In December 2021, State Center Board Members Mihir Kshirsagar and John Pitts joined panel discussions during the National Association of Attorneys General’s Capital Forum on the benefits and dangers of algorithms and the State Center’s programming and resources for State Attorneys General’s offices investigating their use and effects.
On October 27, 2021, State Center Board Member Greg Zoeller and Executive Director Anne Schneider joined a panel discussion on settlement strategies at the Fall Meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General’s Multistate Antitrust Task Force.
On April 15, 2021, the State Center partnered with the National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute (NAGTRI) to present a webinar, Dark Patterns and UDAP: Addressing Online Unfair and Deceptive Practices, which featured research of Dr. Arunesh Mathur, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, an overview of a recent FTC action in this area, and a panel of representatives of state attorneys general’s offices moderated by Mihir Kshirsagar, Board Member.
Support State Enforcement
by supporting the work of the State Center, a 501(c)(3) organization.