Bernard Nash

Practice Areas

Bernie has cultivated an unsurpassed understanding of the state attorneys general (AG) world over his 50-plus years of practice. He is the founder and co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General group, the leading practice in the United States devoted entirely to state AG-related work.

As state AGs’ political, policy, regulatory, and enforcement powers have dramatically increased, Bernie has led the way in developing successful strategies for defending clients in AG investigations and litigations, resolving state AG disputes, and counselling clients on effectively navigating and managing AG scrutiny and oversight. He was the first to recognize the coming boom in AG authority, and is widely recognized as the godfather of the modern state AG legal practice.

Bernie represents some of the largest corporations in the world, including those among the Fortune 50, from across a wide range of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, technology, software, retail, energy, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Sophisticated clients come to him when their company’s reputation, market position, and very existence are on the line. He frequently advises on large mergers with antitrust implications, and defends clients against single-state AG actions and large multi-state actions when the stakes are win or go home.

Bernie’s depth and breadth of experience gives him a unique ability to see all pieces of the state regulatory puzzle and guide his clients to clear and decisive action. This no-nonsense, reality-based perspective facilitates candid conversations through which Bernie helps clients identify achievable solutions and winning litigation strategies. Taken alongside Bernie’s decades of professional interaction and engagement with AGs and their staffs, Bernie is well positioned to negotiate creatively with AGs to achieve the best possible outcomes for his clients, aligned with their strategic business goals.

Career

A former trial attorney and special counsel to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly, Bernie was the architect of and driving force behind passage of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act of 1976 (referred to as “the Nash Act” by The National Journal), which remains the most important antitrust legislation since 1914. That high-level government experience continues to deeply inform his work for clients today.

Publications

Bernie is the co-editor of the State AG Report, a weekly blog with state AG news and updates, and co-host of State AG Pulse, a limited edition podcast.