Lori Swanson

Early life and education

Lori Swanson was born on December 16, 1966. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her J.D. magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul.

Career

Swanson served as Deputy Attorney General during Mike Hatch's first term, and as Solicitor General during his second term. She also served as chair of the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington D.C. in 2006. She was elected Minnesota Attorney General on November 7, 2006 and took office on January 2, 2007, becoming the first woman to serve as Minnesota's Attorney General.

In 2009, Swanson filed a lawsuit against National Arbitration Forum (NAF), at that time the largest consumer arbitration organization in the country. NAF had been criticized by consumer advocacy groups, U.S. Senators, and Public Citizen for bias against consumers. Swanson alleged that NAF was owned by a group of equity funds that also were simultaneously affiliated with a national debt collection agency, Axiant, and the administration of the largest collection law firm at the time, Mann Brakken. In July 2009 NAF signed a consent order with Swanson agreeing to stop arbitrating consumer claims. Shortly thereafter, Axiant and Mann Bracken went out of business.

Swanson was re-elected on November 2, 2010, defeating Republican challenger Chris Barden.

In 2013 and 2014 Swanson took on for-profit colleges. Pointing out that over 70% of graduates of for-profit colleges earn less than high school drop outs, Swanson took action against colleges who misrepresented job placement rates, who steered students to high interest rates loans, and who misrepresented the transferability of credits to other institutions.

In 2014, Swanson issued a scathing report on charities that contract with Savers, Inc., a for profit company that collects and sells second hand clothing through the United States and Canada. Swanson said that the charities and Savers were engaged in deceptive activities because the charities received only a few pennies in exchange for the dollars received by Savers for the sale of donated clothing. Swanson settled the matter in 2015 when Savers agreed to disclose that it is a for-profit company, that it will no longer commingle goods donated to specific charities, that it will disclose the amount of the revenue it receives which is donated to charity, that it will compensate charities for non-clothing items donated to the charity, and that it pay $1.8 million to the charities it serviced in the state of Minnesota.

In 2014 Swanson was re-elected Attorney General, winning seven of the eight Congressional Districts in Minnesota. Swanson won with 52.6% of the vote, beating Republican Scott Newman's 39%.

On February 1, 2017, Swanson joined the attorneys general of the states of Washington, New York, Virginia, and Massachusetts in bringing a lawsuit against the administration of President Donald Trump. The suit challenges the president’s executive order that bans refugees and travelers from a list of predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States. The suit alleges that the order is unconstitutional and should not be enforced. Swanson issued a statement saying restricting people from certain countries “does not pass constitutional muster, is inconsistent with our history as a nation, and undermines our national security.”

Awards and honors

Swanson was named one of the "Top Ten Lawyers in America" by the national publication Lawyers USA in 2009. She also received the Robert Drinan “Champion of Justice” award from the National Consumer Law Center, a Washington-based non-profit organization that acts as a national clearing center and publisher for consumer lawyers and other legal advocates. She was also a recipient of the Pro Patria award by the Department of Defense for her work on behalf of armed service personnel. In 2010, Swanson was named Public Official of the Year by the Minnesota Nurses Association. The Drum Major Institute of New York designated Swanson’s predatory mortgage legislation on one of the ten top public policies proposed in 2008.

Electoral history