Gillette passed the
Oregon State Bar in 1966 and joined the
Portland, Oregon law firm of Rives and Rogers. The next year he moved on to become a Deputy District Attorney for
Multnomah County, staying until 1969. Following this he was an Assistant Attorney General in
American Samoa and
Oregon for two years. Gillette joined the Consumer Protection Division as chief counsel, serving until 1973 when he became Chief Trial Counsel for the
Oregon Department of Justice. That same year he then became Solicitor General for the state of Oregon, a position he held until 1977. In 1977, Gillette joined the
Oregon Court of Appeals and served on that court until 1986. Gillette is a faculty member of
National Judicial College. Gillette wrote the majority opinion in
Lehman v. Bradbury that invalidated 1992's Measure 3 that had enacted
term limits in Oregon, and the majority decision in
Li & Kennedy vs. State of Oregon that invalidated
same-sex marriages approved by
Multnomah County in 2004. He also wrote the opinion of the unanimous court for the 2008 edition of
Williams v. Philip Morris, Inc., a case that had already been to the
United States Supreme Court twice. The opinion upheld the punitive damages award against the tobacco company. ==Later years==