The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office is working at full strength even as most of its staffers work from home. Lawyers are handling mediations and depositions through video conferencing and filing court documents through a fax machine.

Samantha Fisher, the communications director for AG Herbert Slatery, is giving an inside look at how the office is continuing to function under these trying circumstances.

Nearly 250 staffers are working remotely with a focus on legal issues related to the coronavirus response, she said. The Consumer Advocate Unit successfully petitioned the state Public Utility Commission to prevent disconnection of service for nonpayment while the the governor’s state of emergency was in effect.

The Division of Consumer Affairs and the Public Protection Section look into each complaint filed. The division had received 202 formal complaints regarding the coronavirus, inclduding 139 for alleged price gouging (including one high-profile case that received national media attention) and 51 involving refund disputes such as for a vacation rental or event.

A Tennessee man who stockpiled 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer donated all of the supplies on Sunday. “It was never my intention to keep necessary medical supplies out of the hands of people who needed them,” he said. “That’s not who I am as a person." https://t.co/VXhUNjrTnQ

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 15, 2020

The Medicaid Fraud and Integrity Division lawyers have maintained their efforts at civil recovery for TennCare overpayments due to fraud. The division recovered $14 million last year, according to the AG’s office.