Benjamin Michael Flowers

Benjamin Michael Flowers (born March 19, 1987) is an American lawyer who served as the 10th Solicitor General of Ohio. He is known for his work in appellate litigation and has represented several cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Flowers has been recognized for his legal writing and has received awards including the Best Brief Award from the Ohio State Bar Association and the National Association of Attorneys General.

Ben Flowers
10th Solicitor General of Ohio
In office January 14, 2019 – October 2023
Preceded by	Eric E. Murphy
Attorney General	Dave Yost
Personal details
Born	(1987-03-19) March 19, 1987 (age 38)
Education	Ohio State University (BA) University of Chicago (JD)

Early life and education

Flowers was born on March 19, 1987, and raised in Harwinton, Connecticut. He graduated from Lewis S. Mills High School in 2005. He earned a bachelor of arts from The Ohio State University in 2009, graduating summa cum laude with Honors in the Arts and Sciences and research distinction in Philosophy. In 2012, he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Early Career

Following law school, Flowers served as a law clerk to Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and later to Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships, Flowers joined the law firm Jones Day, where he focused on appellate litigation.

Solicitor General of Ohio

In 2019, Flowers was appointed Solicitor General of Ohio. In this role, he represented the state in appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Ohio, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His work frequently involved matters of federalism and state sovereignty.^[3] One of his most high-profile cases was National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (commonly referred to in Ohio filings as Ohio v. OSHA), in which the Supreme Court stayed a federal rule requiring large employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or testing for employees, holding that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) lacked the authority to impose such a requirement.^[4][5][6]

Flowers also argued on behalf of the state in other notable cases, including Shoop v. Twyford and Ohio Adjutant General v. FLRA. In Preterm-Cleveland v. McCloud, he defended an Ohio law prohibiting abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the law, marking the first time a federal appellate court deemed such a restriction constitutional.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In TWISM Enterprises, LLC v. State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers & Surveyors, Flowers represented the Ohio Attorney General as amicus curiae, arguing that Ohio courts are not required to defer to state administrative agencies' interpretations of statutes. The Supreme Court of Ohio agreed, establishing a precedent regarding judicial review of administrative agency interpretations.^[11]

In 2020 Best Brief Award, Ohio State Bar Association, for outstanding legal writing.^[12] Then in 2023 Best Brief Award, National Association of Attorneys General, for excellence in Supreme Court advocacy.^[13]

Return to Private Practice

In October 2023, Flowers stepped down as Ohio Solicitor General and joined the law firm Ashbrook Byrne Kresge LLC,^[14] which is now known as Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC.^[15]