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Consumer Chief of the Month: Laura E. McFarlane, Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Director, Public Protection Unit, Wisconsin Department of Justice

Home / Consumer Protection / Consumer Chief of the Month: Laura E. McFarlane, Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Director, Public Protection Unit, Wisconsin Department of Justice
May 3, 2021 Consumer Protection
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  • NAGTRI Center for Consumer Protection
  • Laura E. McFarlane
    Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Director, Public Protection Unit
    Wisconsin Department of Justice

Headshot of Laura McFarlaneI am honored to be featured as the NAGTRI Center for Consumer Protection’s Chief of the Month.

I was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. While I realize now how lucky I was to be raised here, at the time I graduated from high school, I was very much ready to leave Wisconsin. After graduating from Boston University, I worked at Oxfam America, an international non-governmental organization, for six years. One of the campaigns I worked on dealt with the cost of prescription drugs due to international intellectual property laws. That campaign made me want to go to law school and, I thought at the time, become an international intellectual property attorney.

After a brief stint living in Medellín, Colombia, I ended up back home in Madison at the University of Wisconsin Law School. I focused my studies on intellectual property and international law – even studying abroad in Germany, South Africa, and India. Being home in Madison, however, made me change my life plans, and by the time I graduated from law school, I knew I wanted to stay in Wisconsin.

After graduating from law school, I started at a general practice firm in Madison. Being in private practice helped me realize how much I love being a litigator. But the subject matter of the cases didn’t excite me. It wasn’t until I heard Frank Sullivan (whom some of you may know) talking about his consumer protection work that I even knew a job as an assistant attorney general working on consumer protection issues existed.

In 2016, I joined the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) to work on consumer protection matters. I have worked primarily on matters of health care fraud, which has been a wonderful complement to my past interest in the cost of prescription drugs and my medical malpractice experience. Before joining the Wisconsin DOJ, I had not been very aware of multistate actions. Those cases have quickly become one of my favorite aspects of this work – the ability to work with you all on matters of regional and national importance.

In 2019, I became the chief of the Consumer Protection Section of the Public Protection Unit. I am incredibly fortunate to work with a passionate and talented team of lawyers, paralegals, and support staff. Working with our team and seeing the great work they do daily is inspiring. I am especially proud of our team taking on and prosecuting fair housing cases over this past year, a new area for our section, and adjusting so well to working remotely.

Before the pandemic, when I was not at work, I enjoyed traveling, having a nice meal with friends, and spending time with my family. I look forward to the day I can enjoy those activities again, though they will look a little different as I am pregnant with my first child, due this summer.

Other articles in this edition include:

  • Restitution: The Superior Remedy
  • Attorney General Consumer Protection News
  • Federal Consumer Protection News and Other Items of Interest

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