The Growing Influence of State Solicitors General

Former state solicitors general Michael Mongan and Kevin Gallagher discuss the evolving role of state solicitors general and how states work together to shape legal battles before the Supreme Court.

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When states go to court, the battles are not always divided along party lines. State solicitors general often work across state lines to defend shared interests, coordinate legal strategy, and help shape cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In this episode, former California Solicitor General Michael Mongan, JD '06 (BA '01), and former Virginia Solicitor General Kevin Gallagher, now partners at WilmerHale, join podcast host Professor Pam Karlan to discuss how the role of state solicitors general has evolved. They discuss multistate litigation, bipartisan coalitions, and how states can work together when their legal interests align. Mongan explains that bipartisan cooperation often happens when “they share sovereign interests as states and those interests are genuinely threatened.”

• Michael Mongan >>>law.stanford.edu/jeffrey-l-fisher/WilmerHale Page (wilmerhale.com/en/people/michael-mongan)

• Kevin Gallagher >>> WilmerHale Page (wilmerhale.com/en/people/kevin-gallagher)

Connect:

• Episode Transcripts >>>Stanford Legal Podcast Website (law.stanford.edu/stanford-legal-podcast)

• Stanford Legal Podcast >>>LinkedIn Page (linkedin.com/showcase/stanfordlegal)

• Rich Ford >>> Twitter/X (twitter.com/our_ford)

• Pam Karlan >>>Stanford Law School Page (law.stanford.edu/pamela-s-karlan)

• Stanford Law School >>>Twitter/X (twitter.com/stanfordlaw)

• Stanford Lawyer Magazine >>>Twitter/X (twitter.com/@stanfordlawmag)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:03 What does a State Solicitor General actually do?

04:24 Independence from the Governor

06:10 Who speaks for the state?

09:22 How Virginia united every state

12:44 Where red and blue states actually agree

15:12 The mechanics of building a multistate coalition

17:06 Avoiding duplicate briefs: who writes first?

19:53 From public service to a state AG private practice

20:55 Why firms are racing to build state AG expertise

24:57 Favorite cases

28:44 Closing

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