By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday nominated Randy Mastro as the City’s next corporation counsel.
Mastro, a nationally-recognized litigator with a history of public service—including serving as deputy mayor and City Hall chief of staff in the Giuliani administration—is a partner at the law firm King and Spalding. He also served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
As corporation counsel, Mastro will lead the City Department of Law, which is primarily responsible for providing legal representation to the City—for the Mayor’s Office, the Public Advocate’s Office, the Comptroller’s Office, City agencies, and the City Council—in all affirmative and defensive civil litigation, Adams noted.
“I am humbled and honored to have this opportunity to return to city government. I am a passionate advocate in the courtroom and a proud New Yorker who loves this city,” Mastro said. “So, when presented with this chance of a lifetime to use my legal skills to harness the power of government to do good and improve New Yorkers’ lives, I am answering the call. I stand on the shoulders of giants who held this position before me and led a Law Department that has set the standard for excellence in public representation. And I will work tirelessly to deliver the best legal services possible and achieve affirmative successes for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”
Mastro also has an extensive record of litigating cases on a pro bono basis, including representing peaceful racial justice demonstrators in Washington, D.C. against the Trump administration after they were brutally and abruptly cleared from Lafayette Park with tear gas to make way for a photo op for former President Donald Trump, defending a public-school teacher fired for giving her class an assignment on racism, and successfully advocating for the families of fallen Sept. 11 firefighters that were entitled to millions in donations.
The City Council has made clear that this nomination will not be rubber stamped.
“As the top attorney for New York City, the Corporation Counsel has the special responsibility of representing all of City government, which includes its agencies and all elected officials. The person in this role must have the faith of all city officials and the talented attorneys in the Law Department,” Council spokesperson Julia Agos wrote in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Voters overwhelmingly decided to give the City Council the authority of advice-and-consent for Corporation Counsel in 2019, a proposal that emerged from decades of concerns regarding incidents where the City’s top attorney appeared to prioritize the interests of the mayor over those of the City overall. The Council takes this important duty seriously, and once a nomination is formally received at a Stated Meeting, will perform its charter-mandated responsibility to consider the nominee within 30 days. As part of a transparent public process, a forthcoming hearing will be scheduled that allows for thorough examination, public comment, and due consideration.”
If confirmed, Mastro will replace Acting Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant.
