Wisconsin Attorney General-Elect Brad Schimel has named Andrew Cook, a Madison lobbyist and legal expert, to lead his transition team and serve as his top aide at the Department of Justice.
Cook will serve as Schimel’s deputy attorney general starting in January, once he’s through overseeing the transition.
Cook lobbies for more than a dozen clients, including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Wal-Mart, and the coal industry. He also represents a coalition of business, insurance and medical groups that favor restrictions on lawsuits.
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A spokesman for Schimel said Cook will let his lobbying license lapse at the end of the year.
Cook’s bio on his firm’s website says he had a hand in crafting several high profile laws over the past few years including Governor Scott Walker’s signature “tort reform” law. Cook also had a role in getting rid of a law passed by Democrats that let victims of discrimination sue for punitive damages in state court.
In a statement, Attorney General-Elect Schimel called Cook a trusted advisor with broad knowledge of civil law and state government. Schimel will be sworn into office Jan. 5.
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