Jeffrey A. Modisett (born August 1954) is the former

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and county

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

Marion County, Indiana Marion County is located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States census reported a population of 977,203, making it the largest county in the state and 51st most populated county in the country. Indianapolis is the county seat, t ...

who has worked as an independent legal consultant and CEO of a global legal referral network. He is currently Special Counsel with a boutique law firm in California.

Early life

Modisett received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles ''summa cum laude.'' He then received a J.D. from Yale Law School. He also received a M.A. from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar in 1978.

Career

State Attorney's offices

Modisett was

for the

State of Indiana State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our ...

Prepared Testimony of Jeffrey A. Modisett Attorney General of Indiana before the House Committee on Commerce Subcommittee on Health and Environment Monday, December 8, 1997
(1996–2000), Marion County (IN) Prosecuting Attorney (1991–1994), and Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption & Government Fraud Section of the

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

's Office for the Central District of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

(1982–88). Elected as Indiana attorney general in November 1996, Modisett became involved in two national efforts: the states’ legal battle against the country’s top cigarette manufacturers and the investigation of the

sweepstakes A sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the ...

industry. He was a member of the 1997 states' negotiating team that reached a preliminary settlement, the

Master Settlement Agreement The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was entered on November 23, 1998, originally between the four largest United States tobacco companies (Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard – the "original participa ...

with the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

which called for historic changes in the conduct of

tobacco advertising Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco produ ...

in the United States. He was chairman of the 1998 Allocation Committee which was responsible for devising a formula for distributing the $205 billion settlement to each of the participating states and territories. In 1998 and 1999, Modisett helped lead the states’ effort to reform the sweepstakes industry to better protect consumers, especially the elderly. He was voted one of the top lawyers in Indiana by

Indianapolis Monthly ''Indianapolis Monthly'' is a lifestyle magazine published in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The magazine has some special publications and projects including Indiana Bride, Home, Shops, and Visit Indy's Visitor Guide. It is a member of the City an ...

magazine and, more recently, one of California’s "Superlawyers" by Los Angeles and Law & Politics magazines. As Marion County

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

he led the investigation and prosecution of the former heavyweight boxing champion

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

. Other major prosecutions include U.S. v.

Althea Flynt Althea Flynt (née Leasure; November 6, 1953 – June 27, 1987) was the co-publisher of Flynt's pornography magazine, '' Hustler,'' and the fourth wife of Larry Flynt. Early life Althea Leasure was born November 6, 1953, in Marietta, Ohio. Al ...

(wife of Hustler Magazine publisher; assault). Modisett was Chairman of the Governor’s Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana (1989–2000), and the Governor’s Council of Impaired and Dangerous Driving (1989–2000). He also served as President of the Family Advocacy Center (Marion County, Ind.) (1991–1994), and the Hoosier Alliance Against Drugs (1993–95).

Corporate

Modisett resigned his position of attorney general in 2000 to become the Deputy

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the

2000 Democratic National Convention The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore for president and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut for vice president ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

and co-CEO of TechNet, a

political lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

organization. Modisett was the Chief Legal Officer (2011–15) at LOYAL3, a fintech company in San Francisco that provided a technology platform for online consumer stock ownership and that created the Social IPO to allow everyday Americans to invest in IPOs at the same price as the big Wall St. banks.

Current

Modisett was recently the CEO of Nextlaw Global Referral Network LLC, a free, non-exclusive legal referral network, and Sr. Counsel at the international law firm of

Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...

. He recently joined the Santa Monica, CA office of Sullivan & Triggs where he serves as an advisor to

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

and high-technology companies on a number of issues including

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

, consumer protection,

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

and political relationships. Modisett specializes in resolving complex legal problems prior to litigation and has worked as an independent consultant specializing in state and federal government relations. He also works as a Lecturer in Law at UCLA Law teaching The Legal & Political Importance of the State Attorneys General.

Publications and lectures

*"Prosecuting

: Boxing with the Media," Ethnographies of Law and Social Control: Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 6, pp. 145–163 (ed., Dr. S. L. Burns) 2005; *"The States and Gaming: A Brief Look at the Past, Present, and Future Through the Eyes of a Former Attorney General," 6 Gaming Law Review 197, 2002; *"Cyberlaw and E-Commerce: A State Attorney General’s Perspective," 94 Northwestern L. Rev. 642, 2000; and "Discovering the Impact of the ‘New Federalism’ on State Policy Makers: A State Attorney General’s Perspective," 32 Ind. L. Rev. 141, 1998. *In 1999, he was the McGovern Lecturer at Ball State University where he spoke on "The Ethics of Tobacco Lawyering: Evaluating the Hunter and the Hunted," April 13, 1999.