Photo of Clayton Friedman

Clayton Friedman

Subscribe to Clayton Friedman's Posts

Clayton is a partner in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group and co-leader of the State Attorneys General practice, multidisciplinary teams with decades of experience crafting effective strategies to help deter or mitigate the risk of enforcement actions and litigation.

Contact:Read more about Clayton Friedman

This article was originally published in Reuters on April 8, 2026 and republished here with permission.

State attorneys general are some of the most active regulators in the country, particularly in consumer protection, antitrust, privacy, and emerging technology. For many companies, the first sign of contact is a civil investigative demand (CID) or subpoena from a single state. For others, the first contact is a call from outside counsel alerting them that a coalition of AGs is already coordinating a multistate investigation.

On March 11, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on negative option marketing. The ANPRM restarts the agency’s effort to regulate subscriptions and automatic renewals after the Eighth Circuit vacated the prior “Click to Cancel” rule, from the Biden administration era, on procedural grounds. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication.

On March 19, 2026, a group of eight state attorneys general (AGs) filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna Inc. by Nexstar Media Group, two of the largest American broadcast companies. The suit came after federal regulators cleared the transaction, sharpening an increasing divide between the administration and states’ views on the same transactions.

State attorneys general (AGs) from across the political spectrum have refused to join the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) midtrial settlement with Live Nation. The bipartisan multistate coalition vowed to “keep fighting this case without the federal government,” underscoring that state AGs are increasingly prepared to part with the DOJ and take the lead in complex enforcement actions.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida stayed discovery in a putative Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action while the court considers whether text messages qualify as “calls” under the statute’s do-not-call (DNC) provisions. In McGonigle v. Pure Green Franchise Corp., the court granted the defendant’s motion to stay, finding that the key issues can be resolved as questions of law without discovery. 2026 WL 111338 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 15, 2026).

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed consent order with Illusory Systems Inc. (Illusory), a Utah-based blockchain infrastructure company that operates the Nomad Token Bridge. The settlement resolves the FTC’s allegations that Illusory failed to live up to its stated data security commitments, leading to a 2022 cyberattack in which hackers stole approximately $186 million in crypto assets from platform users. Under the proposed order, Illusory must return to consumers any recovered funds and implement enhanced information security measures.

In this episode of our special 12 Days of Regulatory Insights podcast series, RISE Partner Clay Friedman is joined by colleague Christy Matelis — a member of the firm’s antitrust practice and former Utah assistant attorney general — to unpack what a newly reactivated FTC means for the year ahead.

This article was originally published on Reuters and Westlaw Today and is republished here with permission as it originally appeared on November 18, 2025.

The 2026 election season is poised to bring substantial changes to the roster of state Attorneys General (AG). With over 30 races, including high-stakes contests in Texas and Florida, the outcomes of these state AG elections are set to significantly influence legal and policy outcomes across the nation. These elections will not only shape the legal landscape but also impact businesses and industries that operate within these states.

This article was originally published on Law360 and is republished here with permission as it originally appeared on October 29, 2025.

This article is part of a regular column in which each installment features observations on one state’s attorney general enforcement news and trends, and the compliance implications.

Since beginning his tenure in 2019, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has strategically positioned himself as a leading figure among Democratic state attorneys general.