Attorney General Dave Yost has announced the appointment of Mathura Sridharan as solicitor general, the state’s top attorney for appeals in state and federal courts.

Sridharan, who has served as deputy solicitor general since 2021, will fill the vacancy left by Elliot Gaiser, who was tapped to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. According to a news release, Sridharan is expected to step into the role once Gaiser is officially sworn in sometime this month.

“Mathura is a relentless defender of Ohioans, a champion of federalism and a legal force to be reckoned with in a courtroom,” Yost said. “Her brilliant legal mind and masterful understanding of constitutional law make her the obvious choice to lead the team as Ohio’s solicitor general.”

Since joining the office nearly four years ago, Sridharan has briefed and argued numerous appeals, including Ohio v. EPA before the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2024, the release noted.

“It is an honor and a privilege to stand up for the rights and freedoms of my fellow Ohioans,” Sridharan said. “I am profoundly grateful for the trust Attorney General Yost has placed in me to defend our constitutional ideals, advance the rule of law and fight for our federalist system of government.”

In 2023, Yost named Sridharan director of the Tenth Amendment Center, a division of the office codified in state law to defend Ohioans against unlawful federal policies and to preserve separation of powers between state and federal government.

Sridharan previously clerked for Judge Steven Menashi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Deborah Batts of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

She earned her law degree in 2018 from the New York University School of Law. She also holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science, as well as a bachelor’s degree in economics, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.