No longer simply legal advisers for their respective governors, state attorneys general are increasingly taking an offensive position, bringing lawsuits against companies and executives they accuse of bad conduct. A team of attorneys from Troutman Pepper, led by Clayton Friedman and Trey Smith, explore recent cases and how executives can strengthen the corporate veil.
A few big headlines aside, executives at large companies have rarely been prosecuted criminally for corporate conduct. Even civilly, executives have historically avoided suit unless there was a clear case of alter-ego liability (i.e., the individual and the company were not truly separate), and those claims were generally reserved for closely held entities rather than executives of high-profile companies.
State attorneys general have recently been more willing to bring suits individually against officers and directors of well-known corporate brands. The goal in these suits is often not to collect on a judgment but to send a message that state attorneys general will use their enforcement authority to hold executives accountable for perceived wrongdoing.
State attorneys general are starting to pursue corporate executives
A look at some of the recent cases state attorneys general have brought demonstrates the trend. Last year, then-D.C….
