Benjamin C. Mizer

Benjamin C. Mizer was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division on March 2, 2015.

As the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Mizer oversees the largest litigating division in the Department of Justice. Each year, the Civil Division represents some 200 client agencies in approximately 50,000 different matters. The Civil Division represents the United States in a wide array of civil litigation, including challenges to Congressional statutes, Administration policies, and federal agency actions as well as federal benefit programs; commercial disputes including contract disputes, banking, insurance, patents, and debt collection; international trade matters; and enforcement of immigration laws. The Division safeguards the health and safety of Americans by defending cases related to national security and by enforcing criminal and civil statutes to protect the safety of food and medicines. Finally, the Civil Division recovers billions of dollars for taxpayers through affirmative litigation—its record-setting efforts under the False Claims Act, including cases targeting health care fraud, financial fraud, and fraud against the military, as well as its enforcement of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, and consumer protection statutes.

Before being named Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Mizer served as Counselor to Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department.

Before joining the Department, Mr. Mizer was the Solicitor General of Ohio.   Earlier in his career, Mr. Mizer was as an associate in the Washington, D.C., offices of WilmerHale and an associate legal officer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.  He was a law clerk for Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Judith W. Rogers of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Mr. Mizer has won several awards for his briefs and academic writings, including the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, the Department’s highest honor.  He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and the College of Wooster.