Dunleavy's new AG creates new job for Virginia lawyer
Stephen Cox, the Texas lawyer who joined the Alaska Bar Association five months ago, has already created a new job in his department, hiring Virginia/Kentucky/Indiana lawyer Jenna Lorence as solicitor general.
It seems she is to become a key player in the multi-million-dollar Statehood Defense Industry, which Cox is expanding beyond the ambitions of former industry leader Tregarrick Taylor.
The press release quotes Cox as saying he wants Lorence, who has no experience in Alaska, to “ensure consistent, high-quality representation in courts across the country.”
He didn’t mention consistent, high-quality representation in courts in Alaska.
Cox mistakenly believes that his main job as attorney general is to insert himself into national politics and share his political opinions, often on cases that have little to do with Alaska. He will face a confirmation vote in the Legislature next year.
In September alone, he agreed to sign two dozen amicus briefs in cases across the nation. The department has not updated its numbers for October.
Cox supports Trump’s plan to deploy troops to Washington, D.C. He also supports Trump’s firing of Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
On September 29, Cox declared his support for “professionals like cake bakers” who shouldn’t be forced to design cakes that violate their religious beliefs.
This passport matter is a grave threat to Alaska and the rule of law, according to Cox and Co., who declare that “no constitutional principle requires government-issued papers to serve as canvases for self-expression.”
In the two months that Cox has been on the job in Alaska, here are some of the Outside cases he’s had time to care about:
On September 11, Cox told the U.S. Supreme Court that the oil companies “did much of their important work during World War II in Texas and Louisiana.” But now Louisiana is trying to hold oil companies liable for pollution, a betrayal, according to Cox. The poor oil companies are victims, according to Cox.
On September 15, Cox joined with GOP generals attacking a Maryland ruling that stops Seventh Day Adventists from banning the hiring of anyone who is not a church member for jobs that have nothing to do with the core mission of the church.
On September 22, Cox followed Florida’s lead in opposing a lower court ruling that said Donald Trump did not have the right to fire members of the National Credit Union Administration Board. The ruling threatens the separation of powers, according to Cox.
On September 24, Cox followed the lead of Alabama in claiming that there is no need for the rules of the Voting Rights Act because it worked. The Voting Rights Act rules “must be eliminated” because they promote racial discrimination, according to Cox.
On October 15, Cox booed a lower court ruling saying that Texas couldn’t take steps on its own to deal with people crossing the border illegally. The ruling is an attack on Alaska sovereignty, according to Cox.
On October 19, Cox joined GOP generals in 23 other states defending the Trump administration desire to get rid of birth-right citizenship and asking the U.S. Supreme Court for. help.
There are other cases as well, including this one attacking state laws regarding interstate emissions, and this one about the Administrative Procedure Act, and this gun control case.
While the Department of Law has its own public relations staff of two, the department has publicized only one of the cases listed above, claiming “Alaska Joins Amicus Brief to Defend American Energy and Stop Climate Lawfare.”
That means that most Alaskans have no idea what Cox is doing in their name.
Cox says Lorence will be the first Alaska solicitor general. But the law department has long had people on its staff listed as solicitors general of one type or another.
The Office of Criminal Appeals lists Tamara DeLucia as solicitor general on its website.
Until this week, the Opinions, Appeals and Ethics Section had listed Jessie Alloway as “solicitor general, civil appeals.”
As of Monday, the site says that Jenna Lorence, who is not listed as a member of the Alaska Bar Association, is the new general, while Alloway is the “deputy solicitor general.”
In Indiana, Lorence handled “constitutional challenges and key litigation to further state interests.”
Lorence is a member of the Federalist Society who worked at K&L Gates after finishing law school at Washington & Lee University in 2017. She worked for Baker & Hostetler from 2019 to 2022, after which she worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee from February 2022 until April 2022.
She later worked briefly as assistant solicitor general in Kentucky, moving to Indiana in 2024 to become a deputy. She was admitted to the Indiana bar in 2024.
The press release from Cox describes her experience this way: “Lorence joins the Department of Law from the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, where she served as Deputy Solicitor General and represented the state in constitutional litigation and multi-state appellate matters. She previously served as Assistant Solicitor General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Special Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and as an associate at Baker & Hostetler LLP.”
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