Coty Montag serves as the
Deputy Attorney General in the Public Advocacy Division of the District of Columbia Attorney General's Office, where she leads civil enforcement actions promoting the rights of District residents with particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Her work spans civil rights, workers' rights, consumer protection, housing conditions, antitrust, nonprofit enforcement, environmental protection, and safeguarding elders and vulnerable adults from financial exploitation.
Prior to joining DC OAG in February 2025, Coty served as the Deputy Chief of the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section of the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice. In this role, Coty oversaw enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination by federal funding recipients on the basis of race, color, and national origin. Coty also supervised the Department’s litigation under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, challenging state laws banning the provision of gender-affirming care to transgender youth. This included
Boe v. Marshall and
United States v. Skrmetti, which was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in December 2024.
Prior to rejoining the Department of Justice in 2022, Coty served as the Deputy Director of Litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 2015 to 2018. From 2018 to 2022, she served as a Senior Counsel at LDF. In these roles, Coty litigated numerous economic justice matters under the Fair Housing Act. She also served as lead counsel for LDF in employment discrimination cases challenging criminal background check policies. Coty also served as a Project Manager and Researcher for LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute. In 2019, the Institute published her report,
Water/Color: A Study of Race and the Water Affordability Crisis in America’s Cities.
Before joining LDF in 2015, Coty served as the Deputy Chief of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section (HCE) of the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice. During her time in HCE, she investigated and litigated fair lending matters, including
United States v. Wells Fargo Bank (D.D.C. 2012), a major fair lending investigation resulting in a $234.3 million settlement.
Prior to her time in HCE, Coty worked at law firms in Washington, DC and San Diego, California. Coty is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Florida.
