Professor Bortman teaches Business Law and Constitutional Law. He worked in the law department at John Hancock Financial Services, specializing in tax law and corporate law, and later managed several units of their accounting department. He also served for nine years on the school committee in his home town of Winchester, where he focused on budgetary matters and labor negotiations.

From 1995 until 2001, he taught a variety of business and law courses at Suffolk University, Boston University, Massachusetts School of Law, and Tufts University, as well as at Babson. He has been full time at Babson since 2001.  Professor Bortman recently published his first book, Sacco and Vanzetti, for Commonwealth Editions.  He has also contributed a number of chapters to American history textbooks.