PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Attorney general-elect John Kroger has named the top appellate lawyer for the state as his deputy and the director of his transition team.

Mary Williams currently is solicitor general at the Oregon Department of Justice, the attorney who oversees all appeals by the state.

She joined the department in 1991 and has argued three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Williams is a graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland.

Kroger takes over for fellow Democrat Hardy Myers on Jan. 5. Myers did not seek re-election after serving three terms as attorney general.