The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) held a Policy Conference in Seattle, WA from February 14-16, 2024. The conference was well-attended, including 14 Democratic AGs and high-level staff from an additional three AG offices. The conference included multiple panels on issues of significant importance to Democratic AGs.
The first panel, “Safeguarding Vulnerable Populations in a Digital Age,” was moderated by DC AG Brian Schwalb, and featured Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum alongside industry experts and academics. This panel discussed the risks posed by digital platforms—particularly to youth and elderly consumers—and potential strategies for mitigating such risks. Protecting youth is clearly top of mind for AGs, as AG Rosenblum recently announced that, as the incoming President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), her Presidential Initiative is “America’s Youth: Attorneys General Looking Out for the Next Generation.”
The second panel, “The Rise of Antitrust Leadership by State AGs,” was moderated by Colorado AG Phil Weiser, and featured Connecticut AG William Tong, Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry, and Professor John Kirkwood from the Seattle University School of Law. The panelists held a robust discussion of the increasingly prominent role of state AGs in antitrust enforcement, including in the healthcare and tech sectors, and with regard to worker protections.
Finally, Washington AG Bob Ferguson moderated a panel highlighting his office’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Taskforce, which featured elected officials and subject-matter experts from the Puyallup Tribe and Yakama Nation to discuss the important work being done to address systemic causes behind the high rate of disappearances and murders of indigenous women and people.
The Policy Conference was just the first of a number of events to be held by DAGA, NAAG, and other AG associations in 2024. Visit Cozen O’Connor’s AG Event Insider page for more information on upcoming AG events.