Lori Swanson

Lori Swanson (born December 16, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the attorney general of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. She was the first female attorney general elected in Minnesota. In 2018, she ran for Governor of Minnesota with running mate U.S. Representative Rick Nolan finishing in third place in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary.

After leaving public office, Swanson founded a law firm with Mike Hatch, her predecessor as attorney general.

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.

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. Swanson was appointed to the Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve board of governors in Washington, D.C., in 2004. Swanson was appointed as vice-chair of the council in 2005. She was appointed chair of the council 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. She also became the first William Mitchell College of Law grad to serve as the Minnesota Attorney General, ending the University of Minnesota Law School's continued streak of holding the office since in 1929.

After being sworn in as attorney general, Swanson filed a series of lawsuits against life insurance companies that sold unsuitable annuities to senior citizens. She argued that the insurance companies were responsible for agents who sold long-term annuities with high surrender charge to the elderly. In 2007 and 2008, she sued several insurers, including Allianz Life Insurance Company, American Equity Life Insurance Company, Midland National Life Insurance company, AmeriUs Life Insurance Company and American Investors Life Insurance. The lawsuits resulted in settlements that provided for industry-wide reforms and hundreds of millions of dollars in refund offers to senior citizens. Swanson testified in the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging about the need for insurance companies to require sales agents to ensure the suitability of the sale of an insurance product.

As Swanson took office, the country was beginning to face a housing crisis and eventual recession spurred by predatory subprime mortgage lending. Before she took office, Swanson announced a predatory lending working group to make recommendations to legislators for reforming abuses in the mortgage industry. The group made a number of recommendations, such as the elimination of “no doc” mortgages in which a loan is issued without proof of a borrower's ability to repay it. Many of these proposals were enacted into law, and the Martin Luther King-inspired Drum Major Institute called them one of the 10 best public policy proposals in the United States. A New York Times editorial heralded the law in 2009. Swanson was asked to testify before the United States Congress and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors about the Minnesota reforms. During the housing crisis, Swanson filed 19 lawsuits against mortgage foreclosure companies that defrauded homeowners by charging thousands of dollars and falsely promising to help save their homes from foreclosure. Swanson entered into settlements with a number of national banks for their role in the foreclosure crisis, giving the money back to homeowners who were victimized by the banks’ conduct.

In 2007, a group of attorneys working for Swanson attempted to form a union with the help of AFSCME council 5 to improve their working conditions and provide some protection from being asked to violate the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct by bringing baseless lawsuits against individuals and organizations to suit Swanson's political aspirations. As of April 2017, three months into Swanson's tenure, at least 30 members of Swanson's staff had left the office. On March 7, 2008, MinnPost reported on the internal fight for unionization that was still ongoing, including reports that attorneys who did not support Swanson politically were given punishment assignments or were removed from cases. Later on that spring, in May 2008, an attorney who publicly advocated for the formation of a union, Amy Lawler, was fired by Swanson.