Betsy A. Miller

Betsy A. Miller is a partner at Cohen Milstein and chair of the Public Client practice. She represents state attorneys general and political subdivisions in civil law enforcement investigations and litigation involving consumer protection, Medicaid fraud, and other areas of enforcement that protect government interests and vulnerable communities. She currently represents the states of Indiana, New Jersey and Vermont in the national opioid crisis litigation against manufacturers and distributors of prescription narcotics.

For her accomplishments and continued work in high-stakes matters, Ms. Miller has been honored on several occasions by industry peers, including Lawdragon 500, which recognizes “the best of the best” in the U.S. legal profession, The National Law Journal and The Trial Lawyer, which have identified Ms. Miller as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers,” and The National Law Journal, which named Ms. Miller as one of nine women in the nation to its inaugural list of “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs’ Bar.”  

Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Ms. Miller served as the Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.  Her responsibilities included supervising an office of 700+ employees and serving as the lead lawyer for the historic transition of the D.C. Public Schools under Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Miller served as Nominations Counsel for Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she was responsible for handling confirmation hearings on presidential nominations to the federal judiciary, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and to the Offices of the United States Attorneys.

Ms. Miller also spent eight years as a litigator for two premier defense firms, where she represented some of the nation’s largest companies and individuals in matters including First Amendment issues, complex commercial disputes, collective bargaining negotiations and arbitration, employment class actions and challenges to independent contractor classification.  Her civil defense experience adds to Ms. Miller’s deep and balanced litigation skillset.

Ms. Miller’s public (non-confidential) representations include:

• Grubhub and DoorDash Litigation: Representing the City of Chicago in its litigation against Grubhub and DoorDash for pervasively deceptive and unfair business practices that take advantage of restaurants, consumers, and drivers. Click here to view the lawsuit filed against DoorDash; click here to view the lawsuit filed against Grubhub.
• Uber Eats, Postmates Investigation: Represented the City of Chicago in its investigation into UberEats and Postmates for allegedly listing Chicago restaurants on their platforms without the eateries' consent, for violating the City's emergency fee cap ordinance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other false advertising-related misconduct. On December 5, 2022, the City announced a $10 million settlement.
• Opioid Painkillers: Representing the states of Indiana, New Jersey and Vermont in investigations and litigation against entities responsible for the deceptive marketing and sale of opioids.
• Moody’s Litigation:  Represented the co-lead state (Mississippi) and New Jersey in the $864 million consumer fraud settlement achieved in January 2017 by 22 states and the U.S. Department of Justice with Moody’s Corporation, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., and Moody’s Analytics, Inc.
• S&P Litigation:  Represented co-lead state (Mississippi) in the $1.375 billion-dollar consumer fraud settlement achieved in 2015 by 20 states and the U.S. Department of Justice with Standard & Poor’s.  Together with the Moody’s settlement, these cases against the nation’s two largest credit rating agencies produced key industry reforms that provide greater transparency for consumers and that divested the credit rating agencies of more than $2.2 billion for their conduct contributing to the national housing crisis and Great Recession.