Jeff Modisett

Jeff Modisett

Attorney General of Indiana
In office
1997–2000
Governor| Frank O'Bannon
Preceded by| Pamela Carter
Succeeded by| Karen Freeman-Wilson
Prosecutor of Marion County
In office
1991–1994
Preceded by| Stephen Goldsmith
Succeeded by| Scott Newman[1]
Personal details
Education| University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Yale Law School (JD)
University of Oxford (MA)

Jeffrey A. Modisett (born August 1954)[2] is the former attorney general of Indiana and county prosecuting attorney of Marion County, Indiana who has worked as an independent legal consultant and CEO of a global legal referral network. He is currently a Special Counsel with a boutique law firm in California.

## Early life[edit]

Modisett received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles summa cum laude.[3] He then received a J.D. from Yale Law School.[3] He also received a M.A. from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar in 1978.[3]

## Career[edit]

### State Attorney's offices[edit]

Modisett was attorney general for the State of Indiana[4][5] (1996–2000), Marion County (IN) Prosecuting Attorney (1991–1994), and Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption & Government Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California (1982–88).[6]

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[4] and the investigation of the sweepstakes industry.

He was a member of the 1997 states' negotiating team that reached a preliminary settlement, the Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco industry,[4] which called for historic changes in the conduct of tobacco advertising 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 state’s 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 magazine and, more recently, one of California’s "Superlawyers" by Los Angeles and Law & Politics magazines.[7]

As Marion County Prosecutor he led the investigation and prosecution of the former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.[8] Other major prosecutions include U.S. v. Althea Flynt (wife of Hustler Magazine publisher; assault).

Modisett was Chairman of the Governor’s Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana (1989–2000),[9] and the Governor’s Council of Impaired and Dangerous Driving (1989–2000).[10] He also served as President of the Family Advocacy Center (Marion County, Ind.) (1991–1994), and the Hoosier Alliance Against Drugs (1993–95).

### Corporate[edit]

Modisett resigned his position of attorney general in 2000 to become the Deputy CEO & General Counsel of the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles and co-CEO of TechNet, a political lobbying organization.[5][11] 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[edit]

Modisett was recently the CEO of Nextlaw Global Referral Network LLC, a free, non-exclusive legal referral network,[12] and Sr. Counsel at the international law firm of Dentons. He recently joined the Santa Monica, CA office of Sullivan & Triggs, where he serves as an advisor to Fortune 500 and high-technology companies on a number of issues, including antitrust, consumer protection, privacy 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.[13] He also works as a Lecturer in Law at UCLA Law teaching The Legal & Political Importance of the State Attorneys General. [14]

## Publications and lectures[edit]

* "Prosecuting Mike Tyson: 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;[15]
* "The States and Gaming: A Brief Look at the Past, Present, and Future Through the Eyes of a Former Attorney General,"[16] 6 Gaming Law Review 197, 2002;[17]
* "Cyberlaw and E-Commerce: A State Attorney General’s Perspective," 94 Northwestern L. Rev. 642, 2000;[18] and "Discovering the Impact of the ‘New Federalism’ on State Policy Makers: A State Attorney General’s Perspective," 32 Ind. L. Rev. 141, 1998.[19]
* 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.[20]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Morgan, Kevin, and Janet E. Williams. "Newman shocks Modisett to win tough-guy contest", Indianapolis Star, November 9, 1994, front page and page 17.
2. ^ Who's who in American Law. Marquis Who's Who. 1 January 1998. ISBN 9780837935133. Retrieved 20 November 2016 - via Google Books.
3. ^ a b c "Modisett, Jeff | UCLA Law". law.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
4. ^ a b c 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 Archived December 14, 2012, at archive.today
5. ^ a b "TechNet Names New Vice-President and General Counsel - Indiana Attorney General Jeff Modisett". Business Wire. January 5, 2000.[permanent dead link]
6. ^ "Brothers Indicted In Sale Of Copters To North Korea". The New York Times. January 22, 1987. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
7. ^ "Top Rated Los Angeles, CA State, Local & Municipal Attorney - Jeff Modisett - Super Lawyers". Retrieved 20 November 2016.
8. ^ Terry, Don (September 10, 1991). "BOXING; Tyson Indicted on Rape Count; Bout Is Still On". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
9. ^ Company, DIANE Publishing (1 April 1994). National Drug Control Strategy (1994): Reclaiming Our Communities from Drugs & Violence. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788107054. Retrieved 20 November 2016 - via Google Books.
10. ^ https://archives.iupui.edu/bitstream/2450/48/1/1997 IUSM news releases.pdf[bare URL PDF]
11. ^ Harris, Scott (2000). "How Green Is His Valley". The Industry Standard. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11.
12. ^ "Dentons launches free legal-referral network that relies on new technology".|title=Dentons launches free legal-referral network that relies on new technology.
13. ^ BW Online | June 17, 2002 | Commentary: The Best Defense: A Former AG
14. ^ "Modisett, Jeff | UCLA Law".
15. ^ Burns, Stacy Lee (1 January 2005). Ethnographies of Law and Social Control. Elsevier JAI. ISBN 9780762311286. Retrieved 20 November 2016 - via Google Books.
16. ^ The Interactive Gaming Council - The IGC Presents a Case for Regulation Archived 2009-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
17. ^ Modisett, Jeffrey A. (1 June 2002). "The States and Gaming: A Brief Look at the Past, Present, and Future through the Eyes of a Former Attorney General". Gaming Law Review. 6 (3): 197–206. doi:10.1089/109218802760019628.
18. ^ "Cyberlaw and E-Commerce: A State Attorney General's Perspective". 1 January 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2016. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)
19. ^ "Indiana Law Review Author Index". Retrieved 20 November 2016.
20. ^ "State attorney general to give McGovern lecture". Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2008-11-22.

## See also[edit]

* Bryan Cave LLP

Party political offices

Preceded by

Pamela Carter

|  Democratic nominee for Indiana Attorney General
1996  | Succeeded by

Karen Freeman-Wilson

Legal offices
Preceded by

Stephen Goldsmith

|  Prosecutor of Marion County
1991-1994  | Succeeded by

Scott Newman

Preceded by

Pamela Carter

|  Attorney General of Indiana
1997-2000  | Succeeded by

Karen Freeman-Wilson

* v
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Indiana Attorneys General

Territorial (1804-1816)|

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* Freeman-Wilson
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