When a state AG's office launches a corporate investigation or enforcement action, it is helpful for the company in question to try to determine where in the AG's office the case is being handled—by longterm lawyers at the office or by politically appointed lawyers who may come and go with the AG. It will inform the company's evaluation of the case—its profile, how important it is to the AG, how it is likely to be handled, its objective.

Because most AG actions are statutory, companies should also examine the statute in question to determine what powers it grants to the AG; for instance, whether it requires scienter or it is a strict liability statute, which is common among consumer protection statutes that underpin a great deal of AG actions.