James E. Tierney
Encyclopedia
James E. Tierney is a Maine
politician. At 25, Tierney was elected to the Maine House of Representatives
as a Democrat
from Lisbon, Maine
. After eight years in the Maine Legislature
, where at the age of 29 he was elected Majority Leader, Tierney became the Attorney General of Maine. He served in that capacity for ten years during which time he was active on a wide variety of state and national issues. After leaving office in 1990, he
began a career as a consultant to attorneys general. Tierney has been characterized by state attorneys general and the media as "America's 51st Attorney General."
Tierney is Director of the National State Attorneys General Programhttp://stateag.org at Columbia Law School
, where he has been a Lecturer in Law since 2000. Tierney teaches a course in multistate litigation and has written extensively on a wide range of topics, such as the often volatile relationship between state AGs and their governors. In 2006, Columbia students recognized him as the Public Interest Law Professor of the Year. Tierney is quoted widely on the operations of the office of state attorney general. He is a frequent speaker at meetings of the National Association of Attorneys General
(NAAG). Video of some of those remarks are located at the National State Attorneys General Program website http://www.stateag.org. Tierney has been a regular commentator on Court TV
(TruTV) since its founding in 1991. In that capacity he has commented on a wide range of trials from the celebrated cases of the early 1990s to the recent military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay.
Tierney may be best known as one of the key strategists in the state cases against the tobacco
industry in reclaiming Medicaid payments paid out for tobacco-related disease.
Tierney also has advised officials in Eastern Europe's emerging democracies, has supervised national elections in Bulgaria, Cameroon, Croatia and Albania, and was special counsel in the investigation of alleged corruption within the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Tierney, a graduate of the University of Maine
School of Law, married author and fellow Maine native Elizabeth Strout
in 2011.
Tierney was appointed Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School
for the Spring 2011 semester, during which he taught a course on the role of the state attorney general.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
politician. At 25, Tierney was elected to the Maine House of Representatives
Maine House of Representatives
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,450 citizens of the state...
as a Democrat
Maine Democratic Party
The Maine Democratic Party is the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of Maine.-Current Democratic officeholders:The Maine Democratic Party is the minority party in both the Maine Senate and Maine House of Representatives. The party, however, holds both of the state's U.S...
from Lisbon, Maine
Lisbon, Maine
Lisbon is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,077 at the 2000 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan statistical area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England city and town area...
. After eight years in the Maine Legislature
Maine Legislature
The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate...
, where at the age of 29 he was elected Majority Leader, Tierney became the Attorney General of Maine. He served in that capacity for ten years during which time he was active on a wide variety of state and national issues. After leaving office in 1990, he
began a career as a consultant to attorneys general. Tierney has been characterized by state attorneys general and the media as "America's 51st Attorney General."
Tierney is Director of the National State Attorneys General Programhttp://stateag.org at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, where he has been a Lecturer in Law since 2000. Tierney teaches a course in multistate litigation and has written extensively on a wide range of topics, such as the often volatile relationship between state AGs and their governors. In 2006, Columbia students recognized him as the Public Interest Law Professor of the Year. Tierney is quoted widely on the operations of the office of state attorney general. He is a frequent speaker at meetings of the National Association of Attorneys General
National Association of Attorneys General
The National Association of Attorneys General is an organization of 56 state and territorial attorneys general in the United States...
(NAAG). Video of some of those remarks are located at the National State Attorneys General Program website http://www.stateag.org. Tierney has been a regular commentator on Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
(TruTV) since its founding in 1991. In that capacity he has commented on a wide range of trials from the celebrated cases of the early 1990s to the recent military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay.
Tierney may be best known as one of the key strategists in the state cases against the tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
industry in reclaiming Medicaid payments paid out for tobacco-related disease.
Tierney also has advised officials in Eastern Europe's emerging democracies, has supervised national elections in Bulgaria, Cameroon, Croatia and Albania, and was special counsel in the investigation of alleged corruption within the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Tierney, a graduate of the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
School of Law, married author and fellow Maine native Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout is an American author of fiction.She was born in Portland, Maine, and was raised in small towns in Maine and New Hampshire. After graduating from Bates College, she spent a year in Oxford, England, followed by studies at law school for another year...
in 2011.
Tierney was appointed Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
for the Spring 2011 semester, during which he taught a course on the role of the state attorney general.