G. Mennen Williams Building
525 W. Ottawa Street
P.O. Box 30212
Lansing, MI 48909
Detroit Office
Cadillac Place, 10th Floor
3030 W. Grand Blvd., Ste 10-200
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone: 313-456-0240
Fax: 313-456-0243
The Department of Attorney General only accepts service of process of lawsuits naming Attorney General Dana Nessel or the Michigan Department of Attorney General as defendants. Lawsuits naming other state officers and state agencies, like the Governor or the Michigan Department of Treasury, must be served directly on the state officer or state agency. The Department of Attorney General will not accept service for other officers or agencies unless they give explicit authorization to do so in a specific case. The exception to this rule is that the Department will accept service of process for lawsuits filed under the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act.
Only certain attorneys within the Department of Attorney General are authorized to accept service of process on the Attorney General or the Department. If you have questions regarding service of process on the Attorney General or the Department of Attorney General, please contact the Civil Litigation, Elections & Employment Division at 517-335-7659 or email the Department.
Currently, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Department of Attorney General’s offices are closed to the public. To arrange for personal service, please call the Civil Litigation, Elections & Employment Division at 517-335-7659 for assistance.
For service by certified mail, the following address should be used for the Attorney General or the Department of Attorney General:
Department of Attorney General
The Opinions Review Board is responsible for managing the Attorney General's opinions process; drafting, reviewing, and editing all formal opinions, letter opinions, and informational letters provided to members of the Legislature, the Governor, or any other state officer pursuant to MCL 14.32; handling all citizen correspondence regarding opinions, and reviewing citizen correspondence received from legislators and the Governor. The Opinions Review Board also serves as appellate advisor upon request of the Attorney General in cases involving the observance of a conflict wall, and assists with other cases as needed. They also serve as the Attorney General's advisor on request for the initiation of quo warranto proceedings.
The Solicitor General is responsible for managing the State's litigation in the United States Supreme Court, supervising all the appellate filings by the Department in the appellate courts, provide original briefing and oral advocacy in significant cases for the Department, making recommendations to the Attorney General for amicus briefs and sign-on letters circulated by the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), and preparing reports for the Department regarding case call and appellate dispositions.
The Solicitor General oversees the Criminal Trials and Appeals, Financial Crimes, Health Care Fraud and Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council divisions.
The Criminal Trials and Appeals Division is responsible for conducting criminal investigations and prosecutions, prosecuting cases developed and referred by State agencies, representing and advising the licensing authority for police officers, and serving as the liaison and providing assistance to county prosecutors. Additional duties include:
The Attorney General represents the various state prison wardens in federal and state court actions for writs of habeas corpus filed by state prisoners seeking release claiming their federal constitutional rights were violated in their state criminal proceedings, or that radical defects in jurisdiction entitle them to release.
The Attorney General represents the People of the State of Michigan in the Michigan Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court in appeals from felony convictions obtained in counties with a population smaller than 75,000, and convictions obtained by in prosecutions by the Attorney General.
The Attorney General reviews and responds as appropriate to requests filed by criminal defendants seeking to set aside their criminal convictions and remove them from public records MCL 780.621.
G. Mennen Williams Building
525 W. Ottawa St.
P.O. Box 30212
Lansing, MI 48909
The Financial Crimes Division is responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes. These crimes include, but are not limited to:
The Health Care Fraud Division (HCF) initiates Medicaid fraud civil recoveries; investigates and prosecutes Medicaid provider fraud; and investigates and prosecutes financial and physical abuse and neglect of residents in licensed residential care facilities. HCF also represents the state in Qui Tam cases filed by whistleblowers under Michigan's Medicaid False Claim Act.
The Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council is a state agency that heads the Office of Prosecuting Attorney Coordination – an autonomous entity within the Department of Attorney General. PACC is funded to provide services to Michigan’s Prosecuting Attorneys, their assistants, and other office staff. PACC's services include continuing professional education, legal publications, legal research assistance, office automation services, administration of grant-funded services, and coordination of state prosecution activities.
Office of Fiscal Management is responsible for the department's accounting, budget development, budgetary control, financial & administrative services, mail, office services, purchasing, supplies & stockroom, and vehicle acquisition & requisition.
Office of Human Resources is responsible for the department's human resources and administrative services. Duties include: departmental receptionist, equal employment opportunity, ergonomic assessments, facilities management, health & safety, human resources management, labor relations, temporary staffing, and training.
Office of Legislative Affairs is the liaison with the Legislature.
Office of Communications is responsible for all media relations.
The Consumer Protection Bureau manages the following divisions: Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement; Children & Youth Services; Civil Litigation & Elections; Civil Rights; Corporate Oversight; Health, Education and Family Services; Labor; Licensing and Regulation and Public Service.
The Alcohol & Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) serves as the principal legal counsel for the following state entities:
Office of the Racing Commissioner
The Children and Youth Services Division represents the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and the Wayne County child abuse and neglect civil actions in trial and appellate courts.
The Civil Litigation, Employment & Elections Division is responsible for representing the Auditor General; Board of State Canvassers; Department of Corrections; Department of Military & Veterans Affairs; Department of State - Bureau of Elections; Office of the State Employer; and the Department of Technology, Management & Budget Risk Management Fund. Additional duties include:
Federal civil rights and state tort litigation, excluding public highway litigation, including but not limited to, personal injury, police liability, social worker liability, automobile negligence, medical malpractice, complex prisoner litigation and certain hospital and staff liability cases
The Civil Rights Division is responsible for representing the Michigan Civil Rights Commission; Department of Civil Rights; Michigan Women's Commission; Michigan Hispanic/Latino Commission; Michigan Asian Pacific Affairs Commission; Michigan Middle-Eastern American Affairs Commission; Division on Deaf, Deaf/Blind, & Hard of Hearing; and the Department of State driver license restoration matters in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties.
The Corporate Oversight Division (COD) serves as the legal counsel for the following state entities:
Additional duties include:
The Health, Education & Family Services Division is responsible for representing Department of Health & Human Services; Department of Education; Department of Technology, Management & Budget; Department of Treasury; and the Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs. Additional duties include:
The Labor Division consists of five sections: Funds Administration, State Claims, Regulatory, Claimant Benefit, and Employer Liability sections.
Represents the Agency in state and federal courts as statutory party to all actions arising under the Michigan Employment Security Act, MCL 421.1, et seq., as amended.
The Licensing & Regulation Division (L&R) serves as the principal legal counsel for the following state entities:
Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
Additional duties include:
The Public Service Division (PSD) serves as principal legal counsel for the Michigan Public Service Commission. Additional duties include:
Legal advice and representation on regulatory matters involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The Environment & Real Property Bureau manages the following divisions: Collections; Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture (ENRA); Finance; Public Administration; MDOC; Revenue and Tax; Special Lititgation; State Operations and Transportation.
The SCFRA & Collections Division is responsible for providing legal advice to, and representation of, the Department of Treasury's Collection Services Bureau. The Division is also responsible for enforcement of the State Correctional Facility Reimbursement Act of 1935.
The Environment, Natural Resources, & Agriculture Division is responsible for representing the Commission of Agriculture & Rural Development; Department of Agriculture & Rural Development; Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs - Office of Land Survey and Remomumentation; Department of Natural Resources; Mackinac Island State Park Commission; Michigan State Waterways Commission; and the Utility Consumer Participation Board. Additional duties include:
Attorney General Designee on the State of Michigan Retirement Board and Michigan State Police Retirement System Board.
Pursuant to Act 194 of 1947, specifically MCL 720.201, "[t]here shall be a public administrator for the state of Michigan, to be known in this act as the ‘state public administrator.'" The Governor appoints the state public administrator upon the recommendation of the Attorney General.
The State Public Administrator has oversight over the appointed county public administrators' activities that effectuate disposition of the decedent's body and manage the determination/collection/liquidation/distribution of any assets in the decedent's estate. Attorneys acting as county public administrators have powers and duties primarily related to intestate decedent estates where there are apparently no known heirs.
The current State Public Administrator is Katharyn Barron. She is an Assistant Attorney General with the Department of Attorney General and was appointed by the Governor on November 21, 2019.
The MDOC Division acts as general counsel to the Michigan Department of Corrections. In addition to advising the MDOC, we defend the Department, the State, and its officials in all prison litigation, including working with the MDOC on guardianships and representing the People of the State of Michigan in parole public hearings.
The Revenue and Tax Division acts a general counsel to the Department of Treasury, defends the State in claims in involving the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, defends tobacco assessments and provides collection counsel to the Department of Health and Human Services. Additional duties include:
The Special Litigation Division is the ratepayer advocate in electric and natural gas rate cases and other proceeding before the Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as well as state and federal courts and agencies. The Division also has the responsibility of representing the consumer interest in utility energy cost recovery proceedings conducted by the Public Service Commission pursuant to 1982 PA 304. In addition, the division handles miscellaneous matters at the direction of the Attorney General.
The State Operations Division has a diverse legal practice and provides legal support and representation to a variety of state agencies. The Division provides training and representation for all of state government on matters related to FOIA and OMA. The Division also houses the Department IT and eDiscovery units and handles matters related to municipal and governmental affairs. Our assignments include the following:
The Transportation Division is responsible for being the Attorney General's designee to the Transportation and Natural Resources Committee and representing the Department of Transportation. Additional duties include: