Attorney General Dan Rayfield today announced the appointment of Benjamin Gutman as the new Deputy Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice. Gutman, who has been serving in the role on an interim basis while continuing his work as Oregon’s Solicitor General, now formally completes the Attorney General’s newly structured senior leadership team.
“Ben brings a rare combination of brilliance, humility, and public-service grit to the Oregon Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “Whether he’s working behind the scenes to strengthen the foundation of our agency or standing before the U.S. Supreme Court arguing one of the most consequential cases in years, Ben always shows sound judgement and the leadership we need to deliver for Oregon.”
Attorney General Rayfield has spent the past year reshaping the DOJ’s leadership structure to better support his agenda to strengthen the foundation of the agency, protect working families, modernize operations, and restore public trust. Gutman’s appointment marks the final step in that organizational restructuring—rounding out a senior team that now includes a Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer.
Gutman moves into the position at a defining moment for ODOJ and for his own career. As mentioned, he appeared before the United States Supreme Court in November to argue a landmark constitutional case on behalf of a coalition of states challenging the president’s tariff policy. His performance before all nine justices underscored both his skill and the strength of Oregon DOJ’s legal leadership.
As Solicitor General, Gutman supervised all appellate litigation for the state. Before joining the Oregon DOJ, he served as the chief administrative judge and western director for the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, where he was a member of the federal government’s Senior Executive Service. Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Solicitor General for the State of New York and as an appellate attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Gutman earned his B.A. magna cum laude in mathematics and philosophy from Yale College and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as executive editor of the Yale Law Journal.
His appointment as Deputy Attorney General is effective immediately.
