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The Role of the State Attorney General-Harvard Law School-Fall 2025

Introduction and Speaker

At the outset of class, we'll be joined for 20 minutes of zoom questions for NE AG Mike Hilgers. He was on the law review at U. Chicago, clerked on the Fifth Circuit, and worked for a large IP law firm before returning to Nebraska. He served in the legislature and was Speaker of the House before being elected AG. Come prepared with quesitons.

This week the first half of class will consider criminal justice reform and police misconduct, and the second half of class will consider the AG’s role in enforcing labor laws. 

As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, AGs frequently are involved in criminal justice efforts, as a matter of legislative action, prosecutorial discretion, or defending the state. Likewise, as states grapple with the issue of police misconduct, many of the proposed solutions involve the AG.

In recent years, AGs have increasingly been involved in enforcing state labor laws, including minimum wage laws and prohibiting no-poach agreements.