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Allison Zieve

Allison M. Zieve joined Public Citizen Litigation Group in August 1994.  In 2009, she became the Group's director and director of our Supreme Court Assistance Project.  She also serves as General Counsel of Public Citizen.

At the Litigation Group, Ms. Zieve's practice areas include public health (such drug safety and food labeling issues), consumer safety (such as automobile standards), open government, federal preemption, class action abuse, and first amendment issues (in the context of federal regulation and of the Internet). Many of her cases involve issues related to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. She has also litigated against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services, among other agencies. Among the cases litigated by Ms. Zieve are Warner-Lambert v. Kent, 522 U.S. __ (2008) (successful representation on issue whether exception to a Michigan law providing drug companies immunity from liability to injured patients is preempted), Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 552 U.S. __ (2008) (unsuccessful representation on issue whether medical device laws preempt damages claims brought by injured patients against device manufacturers),Will v. Hallock, 126 U.S. 952 (2006) (successful representation in case under Federal Tort Claims Act), Public Citizen v. Mineta, 340 F.3d 39 (2d Cir. 2003) (successful challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act to NHTSA regulation), and Dusenbery v. United States, 534 U.S. 161 (2002) (unsuccessful due process challenge to notice of forfeiture).

Ms. Zieve has published articles on preemption of state-law damages actions, tobacco regulation, and the Freedom of Information Act. She has twice judged the American Constitution Society's Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law.  And she has taught appellate advocacy as an adjunct professor at the American University's Washington College of Law.

Ms. Zieve is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before numerous federal courts. She was graduated from Brown University and Yale Law School.

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