Sacramento, California - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Friday announced the appointment of Michael Mongan to the position of California Solicitor General. Mongan will serve as the chief appellate lawyer for the California Department of Justice, managing the Office of the Solicitor General in overseeing civil and criminal appeals. Mongan will continue the work of outgoing Solicitor General Edward DuMont, who is departing after five years of outstanding, dedicated service in the post.

“California was fortunate to have Ed DuMont as our chief appellate lawyer for the last five years, and we are equally fortunate to have someone like Mike, who cares so deeply about this State, to serve as California’s next Solicitor General,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Mike’s commitment to appellate advocacy and his experience in leading some of the Department’s most important appellate projects ensures that the Office of the Solicitor General continues in superb hands.”

“I am honored and humbled that the Attorney General chose me to serve as California’s next Solicitor General,” said Michael Mongan. “I look forward to working with the team in the Office of the Solicitor General and our colleagues throughout the Department to continue our tradition of excellence and success in our appellate practice.”

Mongan joined the California Department of Justice in 2014 as a Deputy Solicitor General and became the Supervising Deputy Solicitor General in 2017. In addition to his supervisorial responsibilities, Mongan has briefed and argued numerous cases in the state and federal appellate courts on a range of important issues, including in cases as widely varied as California’s challenge to the Trump Administration’s effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census and our defense of the voter-adopted program for collecting DNA identification information from felony arrestees. Mongan was the lead advocate who successfully argued before the Ninth Circuit in defense of California’s preliminary injunction blocking the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; that injunction has allowed 473,000 individuals to renew their DACA status since the Trump Administration unlawfully attempted to terminate the program.

Prior to joining the California Department of Justice, Mongan worked at a private law firm in San Francisco, where he focused on complex civil litigation and appeals and filed pro bono amicus briefs in criminal and civil appellate proceedings. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Counsel to Vice President Joe Biden during the first two years of the Obama administration; clerked for Judge Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; clerked for Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court; and worked on the staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Mongan grew up in the Bay Area and currently lives there with his wife and two children. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. Mongan will officially assume his new post on August 19, 2019.