Crowell & Moring offices in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ) Crowell & Moring offices in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ

Crowell & Moring is expanding its newly launched state attorneys general practice with the hire of the former chief deputy AG for the District of Columbia.

Natalie Ludaway serves as an example of the wider dynamics that are pushing firms like Crowell and others to invest in this practice area. She joined the Washington, D.C., Office of Attorney General in 2015 to guide its transformation to an independent agency, and in five years it has joined a vanguard of attorneys general who are aggressively exercising their oversight, investigative and enforcement powers.

"State attorney generals are more and more active in the space of consumer protection, antitrust, environmental [litigation], false claims, and other areas as the federal government's role has decreased in many of these areas," she said Tuesday.

Ludaway was hired by D.C. attorney general Karl Racine after he became the first elected attorney general for the capital. Prior to 2015, the attorney general was appointed by the city's mayor, and the change allowed a reorientation from reporting to the mayor to independently taking affirmative measures to protect the residents of the district.

"Natalie is the rare lawyer who takes the time necessary to develop a deep understanding of the needs of her clients, creatively crafts the winning strategy, and identifies the mix of talent necessary to achieve the clients' objective," Racine said in a statement. "Few lawyers have such skills and winning personality to deliver for their clients. It is for these reasons that Natalie's leadership elevated OAG's status from a dormant agency, to one that has earned the respect of District residents and experts who regularly practice in the State AG space."

Ludaway started by first building out a consumer protection division, which reported directly to her. Next came a public advocacy division, the office's largest affirmative litigation center, which tackles antitrust issues, nonprofit organizations and environmental concerns, among other subjects.

"As that division built itself up, the District moved more and more to being on the executive committee of multi-state actions and other leadership positions," Ludaway said.

Entering public service after serving as the managing member of a D.C.-based litigation boutique, Ludaway had initially promised Racine that she would stay in the role for two years. She said that even after staying for more than twice as long, it was a difficult decision to move on. Crowell offered a broad client base across a range of practices, and "deep bench" in white-collar, investigations and regulatory work, guided by a number of former prosecutors and senior enforcement officials, she explained.

The firm brought on former Sidley Austin partner Clayton Friedman to lead its new state attorneys general enforcement and investigations practice in January. Friedman served as assistant Missouri attorney general for 10 years, starting in 1984, and more recently worked as chief counsel and director of business regulation for the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington, D.C.

"We are seeing a growing number of investigations and enforcement actions from state attorneys general," Philip T. Inglima, chair of Crowell & Moring, said in a statement. "Clients need strategic guidance from experienced counsel who understand the dynamics of this specialized area and can advise on the enforcement, litigation, and regulatory aspects of AG matters."

Racine announced Tuesday that Ludaway would be replaced by Jason Downs, who joined the office in November as general counsel. After a decade with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, he worked as a founding partner at Downs Collins.

In October, O'Melveny & Myers launched its own state attorneys group with Kamala Harris' former policy chief; in September, Blank Rome brought on a high-ranking official from the Pennsylvania attorney general's office. Cozen O'Connor; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; Squire Patton Boggs; Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; King & Spalding; and Alston & Bird have all established groups as well.

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