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Joanna Rosen Forster

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Joanna Forster’s multifaceted background positions her to effectively manage conflicts across the legal spectrum and across the globe. In her prior roles as general counsel (representing both plaintiffs and defendants) and as government prosecutor/enforcer, Joanna handled nearly every type of matter, ranging from complex commercial and white collar matters in areas such as employment, intellectual property, securities and antitrust law, to internal investigations and corporate and M&A transactions. She views her role as both a conflict manager, dispensing advice to avoid adversarial action, and as a tech and business litigator, resolving disputes with her client’s business goals in mind.

Having served as the general counsel and compliance officer of a publicly traded ecommerce platform operating in over 60 countries, Joanna has an appreciation of strategic dispute resolution, investigations, and compliance from a general counsel’s perspective. By understanding how business leaders combine the input of in-house and outside counsel to make decisions, Joanna is able to provide her clients with decisive and efficient legal guidance.

Her practice includes litigating domestic and cross-border complex commercial disputes and advising technology and ecommerce companies on matters related to internet platforms, product launches, market campaigns, and new vertical lines of business, all while advising on foreign and domestic laws that regulate online content, physical products, and the companies that bring them to market. Drawing on her experience as the General Counsel of an online e-commerce marketplace, Joanna also regularly advises and counsels clients on California’s Proposition 65, from prevention and compliance to remediation. Joanna is well-versed in key regulations that impact ecommerce companies, including the EU’s Digital Services Act, the U.S. INFORM Act, and the proposed SHOP SAFE Act, as well as laws and regulations that govern online speech such as the Communications Decency Act, Section 230.

Prior to going in-house, Joanna was the deputy attorney general, Corporate Fraud Section of the California Department of Justice. In this capacity, she led large, complex civil matters alleging violations of California’s False Claims Act, Securities Law, Section 17200, Cartwright Act, and other deceptive business practices. She also maintained her own investigations and litigation docket.

Before joining the California Department of Justice, Joanna spent nearly a decade in private practice, where she focused on civil and criminal antitrust and commercial litigation. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall in the U.S. District Court for the Central District Court of California.

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On August 19, 2026, the FTC issued a press release outlining the agency’s proposed Enforcement Policy Statement on personalized pricing putting businesses on notice that using consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices without clear and conspicuous disclosures — including the fact of personalization, its basis, and the data used — may constitute a deceptive…

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Below are the updates from July 16-August 12, 2026:

Multistate

  • A coalition of 19 attorneys general moved to intervene in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging that the DoD unlawfully froze routine national security reviews of land-based wind energy projects across the country, effectively blocking more than 100 wind projects. The coalition argues that the DoD’s “Wind Freeze” violates the Administrative Procedures Act and undermines state sovereign, economic, and policy interests.
  • A coalition of 20 attorneys general sent a letter to federal financial regulators to raise concerns about granting national banking charters to financial tech (“fintech”) companies without adequate safeguards to protect consumers and the financial system. The coalition warned that some fintech lenders use predatory tactics to target the financially vulnerable in violation of state laws and that extending banking privileges to cryptocurrency firms and emerging platforms could add risk to the financial system unless safeguards are implemented.
Continue Reading State AG News: Consumer Protection, Antitrust, Environmental Regulation (July 16-August 12, 2026)

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Below are the updates from July 9-16, 2026:

Multistate

  • A bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general announced a multistate settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe, resolving allegations stemming from a 2023 data breach that compromised the genetic data of 6.9 million customers worldwide. The settlement includes $150 million in allowed claims for states, but due to the finite amount of funds in the bankruptcy estate, the court limited recovery to $18 million which will be paid out immediately.
Continue Reading State AG News: Robocalls, Fintech, Administrative Law (July 9-16, 2026)

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Below are the updates from June 11-17, 2026:

Multistate

  • A multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general won a lawsuit challenging a federal government order to freeze all permitting for wind energy projects. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit dismissed the Trump administration’s appeal after the administration chose to drop the case, cementing a lower court ruling that the freeze was arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.
  • A multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the federal administration’s alleged imposition of unclear and confusing requirements to end “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives on state agencies contracting with the federal government. The complaint alleges that federal agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide notice or accept public comments, exceeding their legal authority, and neglecting to adequately explain or justify the new requirements.
Continue Reading State AG News: Administrative Law, Antitrust, Civil Rights (June 11-17, 2026)

Register now to join Crowell partners Matt Ferraro, Joanna Forster, and Jennie VonCannon as they explore AI liability, focusing on chatbots and generative AI, recent rulings on product liability in the digital realm, and new laws. This session will provide high-level legal strategies to manage risk and liability across AI applications, including white-label chatbots, virtual assistants, synthetic media, and employment tools. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PT.

Continue Reading Register Now! Large Liability Models? Emerging Tort and Privacy Risks in Chatbots and Generative AI

Register now to join Crowell partners Joanna Forster, Toni Michelle Jackson, and Daniel Leff for a focused discussion on surveillance pricing — what it means for your business, the risks it creates, and the concrete steps you can take now, from reviewing your pricing practices and privacy policies to building a proactive risk management strategy. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Continue Reading Register Now! The Next Frontier — Surveillance & Personalized Pricing Webinar

On April 10, 2026, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court, the Commonwealth’s highest court, allowed a lawsuit brought by the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts against Meta to proceed, stating that Section 230 does not immunize the company from claims that the design of their platforms injure children. Click here to continue reading the…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–2030, setting out the agency’s enforcement priorities and operational objectives for the next five years under Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. The plan reaffirms the FTC’s commitment to vigorously enforcing the nation’s antitrust and consumer protection laws “without fear or favor.” Critically for…

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Below are the updates from March 26-April 2, 2026:

Multistate

  • A coalition of 17 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging violations of federal law after the agency repealed stricter limits on mercury and other hazardous air pollutant emissions from coal-fired and oil-fired power plants that were previously outlined in the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule. The coalition seeks injunctive relief to reinstate the updated emissions standards, arguing that the EPA’s action endangers public health and the environment and failed to consider advances in emissions control technologies.
Continue Reading State AG News: EPA, Fuel Pricing, Data Security (March 26-April 2, 2026)

The New Jersey Legislature is considering two bills, that if enacted, would prohibit business entities from using either consumers’ personal data or “personalized algorithmic pricing” to set prices for merchandise or services, including groceries. If enacted, the new laws would have broad implications for companies across industries that rely on algorithmic or data-informed pricing strategies.