Long-time RI open records chief moving on, but taking a pay cut. Here's where he is going.

Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal
Updated ·2 min read

PROVIDENCE – The longtime face of open records requests in Rhode Island is moving on from the state Attorney General’s office.

Assistant Attorney General Michael W. Field will join the state judiciary on Sept. 3 as a senior law clerk to state Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg at a $84,570 annual salary, Lexi Kriss, spokeswoman for the courts, confirmed Wednesday.

Field taking $77K pay cut in new job

Field, a 1997 graduate of Roger Williams University School of Law, had previously served since 2019 as a deputy chief in the attorney general’s office civil division and led the open government unit from 2008 to 2019, fielding hundreds of requests under the Access to Public Records Act. According to the state’s transparency portal, his salary at the attorney general’s office was listed as $161,974.02 for the 2023 fiscal year.

According to a resume provided by the judiciary, Field joined the attorney general's office in 1999 as a special assistant attorney general with the civil division.

He served as a judicial law clerk to Justice Goldberg from 1997 to 1999 and as an judicial law extern then state Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders, Jr. from September 1996 to May 1997.

More: Battle over RI police major's pension has court answering - who is a surviving spouse?

At a state Judicial Nominating Commission hearing in 2014, Field cited in his bid for a Superior Court seat his accomplishments as participating in the state’s fight to block lead-paint companies from forcing the state to pay $10 million in legal fees. The state prevailed.

In addition, he defended the state against a Narragansett Indian Tribe lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ballot referendums allowing table games at the state's two slot parlors.

"We are grateful for Michael’s service to this Office and the people of Rhode Island and wish him well in his next endeavor," Brian Hodge, spokesman for Attorney General Peter F. Neronha's office, said in an email Thursday.

He served on the Board of Directors at Roger Williams Law from 2008 to 2020.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Assistant AG lands clerkship with state Supreme Court for a pay cut