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:

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