Divisions

Executive Staff

Chief Deputy Attorney General. The chief deputy manages the office and coordinates and oversees the office’s legal work.

Lacey E. Mase, Chief Deputy Attorney General

Lacey Mase joined the Office in January 2021 as Executive Counsel, monitoring the Office’s most significant legal matters and executing workflow and oversight-improvement projects at the direction of the Attorney General. Prior to this, she spent more than nine years at the Texas Attorney General’s Office as a civil litigator and in various executive leadership positions. Before attending law school, Lacey was a first-grade teacher in Austin, Texas. She is a graduate of Baylor University School of Law and the University of Texas at Austin.

Solicitor General. The Office of the Solicitor General oversees all appellate litigation in the Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals, the United States Supreme Court, and the federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, primarily in the Sixth Circuit, which includes Tennessee. OSG also oversees all published opinions issued by the attorney general.

J. Matthew Rice, Solicitor General

Matt Rice joined the Office of the Solicitor General in June 2022. Prior to this, Matt worked in private practice at Williams & Connolly LLP. Matt clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court as well as Judge Sandra Ikuta on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Before his legal career, Matt played professional baseball in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Chief of Staff. The chief of staff manages external relations, including communication and legislative strategy, and coordinates with other AG offices across the country.

Brandon J. Smith, Chief of Staff

Brandon James Smith joined the Office in 2019 as an Assistant Solicitor General, where he handled appellate matters and lead efforts related to policy and federalism. Prior to coming to Tennessee, He served as a senior policy advisor and counsel to the Governors of Kansas and Kentucky. He previously worked at a non-profit organization in Washington D.C. where he was also an adjunct professor and ran a volunteer legal aid clinic. He graduated from Abilene Christian University, the University of Kansas, and the George Washington University Law School.

Chief Operating Officer. The chief operating officer manages administrative matters including talent management, organizational development, IT, fiscal, and facilities management.

Kelly K. Smith, Chief Operating Officer

Kelly Smith joined the Office in February 2017 serving as Senior Advisor overseeing people management. Prior to this, Kelly worked as an Assistant Commissioner for Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. Kelly began her career with the George W. Bush Administration, followed by positions with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Realtors. Kelly received an International Business degree from Mississippi State University. She resides in Nashville, TN with her husband and three children.

Office of the Solicitor General

The Office of the Solicitor General oversees all appellate litigation in the Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals, the United States Supreme Court, and the federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, primarily in the Sixth Circuit, which includes Tennessee. OSG also oversees all published opinions issued by the attorney general.

Strategic Litigation Unit

The Strategic Litigation Unit handles complex affirmative litigation and defends the separation of powers and constitutional rights of Tennesseans.

Civil Law Section

Employment Law Division: The Employment Law Division defends the State and its agencies and employees in employment-related litigation in both state and federal court.
Law Enforcement and Special Prosecutions Division: The Law Enforcement and Special Prosecutions Division (LESP) represents the State’s law enforcement entities and employees, as well as judges, prosecutors, and public defenders in a variety of civil matters. The Division also investigates and prosecutes certain civil enforcement actions, forfeitures, and ousters, as well as all matters within the Attorney General’s limited original criminal jurisdiction.
Real Property and Transportation Division: The Real Property and Transportation Division represents the Tennessee Department of Transportation in its acquisition of property and property rights for public use through eminent domain. The Division has offices in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Jackson.

Criminal Justice Section

Criminal Appeals Division: The Criminal Appeals Division handles all appeals from criminal judgments State criminal courts. Division attorneys are responsible for interlocutory, extraordinary, direct and post-conviction appeals, defending state criminal judgments in state habeas corpus proceedings, and advising local prosecutors on complex legal issues. The Division has a team of attorneys who work with the Governor’s legal counsel and Department of Correction attorneys in dealing with extradition and detainer matters.
Federal Habeas Corpus Division: The Federal Habeas Corpus Division defends state criminal judgments against collateral attacks in federal court. Because federal habeas corpus is the last stage in the three-tier review process for criminal judgments, Division attorneys also handle end-stage capital litigation in death penalty cases.

Financial and Regulatory Section

Administrative Law Division: The Administrative Law Division (ALD) specializes in litigation under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, the Public Records Act, Open Meetings Act, and the Public Participation Act. It provides general legal advice to the State’s Supreme Court boards, health-related boards, and the Department of Commerce & Insurance’s regulatory boards, and it advises all state entities on public records and open meetings issues.
Consumer Advocate Division: The Consumer Advocate Division represents the interests of Tennessee public-utility consumers when a public utility wants to raise rates or has service problems. Virtually all public utilities are government-sanctioned monopolies. The Tennessee Public Utility Commission regulates public utilities, but there remains an imbalance between the consumers and the utilities. The Legislature, therefore, created the Consumer Advocate to give consumers a legitimate voice before TPUC.
Environmental Division: The Environmental Division represents the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the Tennessee Historical Commission in both civil enforcement and defensive capacities.
Financial Division: The Financial Division provides legal services for many of the State’s business-related activities, representing numerous agencies that deal with issues of government financing, banking, economic development, legal gambling, insurance and securities regulation, and contracting. The Division also defends the Department of Revenue and the State Board of Equalization in state tax matters.

Public Protection Section

Bankruptcy Division: The Bankruptcy Division represents state agencies in bankruptcy courts across the country. Specifically, it represents the State’s interest by filing proofs of claim and administrative claims in bankruptcy cases where a state entity is owed a debt. The Division also collects penalties and other debts owed to state departments and agencies.
Consumer Protection Division: The Consumer Protection Division protects consumers and businesses from unfair and deceptive trade practices, enforces state and federal antitrust laws, and enforces the Unauthorized Practice of Law statutes. The Division of Consumer Affairs is part of the Consumer Protection Division, and it (1) serves as Tennessee’s central coordinating agency and clearinghouse for consumer complaints alleging unfair and deceptive practices; (2) provides an informal complaint mediation program to help consumers and businesses resolve disputes and potentially avoid the need for litigation; and (3) conducts statewide educational presentations and other outreach initiatives to help Tennesseans avoid scams and protect their identities.
Public Interest Division: The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office plays a critical role in the oversight of charitable solicitations, charitable trusts/endowments/gifts, nonprofit dissolutions and mergers, and public-benefit-hospital sales and asset transfers, which is the work of the Public Interest Division. By investigating complaints against Tennessee public-benefit nonprofits, the Public Interest Division also works to ensure that nonprofits steadfastly operate in furtherance of the public good.
Tobacco Enforcement Division: The Tobacco Enforcement Division enforces the provisions of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement and handles other tobacco-related matters.

State Services and Litigation Section

General Litigation Division: The General Litigation Division (GLD) specializes in defensive constitutional litigation and programmatic litigation for the State, and it handles general civil litigation for TennCare, state universities and the Tennessee Board of Regents, the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the Secretary of State’s Elections Division.
Human Services Division: The Human Services Division represents the Department of Children’s Services, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Mental Health.
Torts Litigation Division: The Torts Litigation Division (TLD) defends all state entities and employees against non-constitutional tort claims.
Memphis Office: The Memphis Office represents the State and its employees in federal and state litigation in matters pending in courts located in the Western Section of the State, and, on special assignment, in matters of state-wide import in state and federal court, regardless of venue.