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 of

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, th ...

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 IndianaPrepared 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'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 m ...

(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 A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

manufacturers 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 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 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 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. 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), 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 especially ...

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 in

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 world ...

and co-CEO of TechNet, a political lobbying 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), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

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 ...

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

, 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. 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 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; *"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.