A coalition of state attorneys general investigating Google over its antitrust practices has won a small victory for in-house counsel who someday may want to use their expertise as outside consultants.

Google had sought to limit what discovery documents could be seen by outside consultants hired by the states. In a petition filed last fall in a Travis County, Texas, court, Google named three specific consultants, and singled out Eugene Burrus, a former assistant general counsel at Microsoft Corp. in Seattle.