Having the opportunity to intern with the “law firm” that represents my home state, the Tennessee Attorney General Office, was an inspirational and educational treat. Attorneys General offices include many diversified groups. Tennessee, for example, has fifteen separate divisions that cover subject areas as varied as criminal appeals, environmental concerns, and tax revenue for the state.

The Consumer Protection group, where I interned, looks out for state citizens by holding companies who fail to abide by the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (which tracks closely with FTC guidance) accountable for their actions. The group is divided into three main focus areas: 1) General CP; 2) Antitrust; and 3) Opioids. The latter two are in the news quite often and are fairly self-explanatory. Those large initiatives are conducted in conjunction with almost all of the other State AG offices in the country. The Opioid litigation had some well-earned settlements that were announced during my time with the office; the Antitrust group had some temporary defeats as they are still crafting their approach for controlling the exponential growth of the Tech industry.

General CP cases, on the other hand, are quite varied and run the gamut on both the severity and scope of harm scale. The case could be as simple as a carpenter who accepted payment and then failed to do any of the promised work. On the other hand, it could be as complex as a massive backpay tax assistance scheme where the whole business model of the company is deceptive and misleading. Assistant Attorneys General handle these cases from soup to nuts. Given the dearth of funds and adequate administrative support in the Government world, AAGs frequently could be handling the workflow on their own (in contrast to the hundreds of AAGs throughout the country working together on Antitrust and Opioids).

Even as a 1L summer intern I was entrusted with substantive work. I had the opportunity to create the skeleton of an internal memo that was bubbled up to both the TN AG and multiple other state AGs. I conducted thorough Bluebooking/spading and other substantial edits for a brief that was submitted to the court. Lastly, there were of course plenty of research and shadowing opportunities all throughout the summer.

A highlight of the internship was attending an in-person court proceeding in Chattanooga, TN. The chancellor (TN has separate courts of equity and law) welcomed the interns with open arms. Well, the warm welcome actually came after he chided us for attending out-of-state law schools and proceeded to make us say that, “We will give my all for Tennessee today” (an ode to the Tennessee Volunteers slogan). Seeing a talented AAG fight the good fight in person was a thrilling experience.

I could not recommend a clerkship with your home AG office enough. You’ll come away with a better understanding of the work that comes through their doors and a profound appreciation for the public servants who dedicate their lives to upholding the laws of your state.