Trailblazers
The 2026 Trailblazers in Law
New York’s legal eagles making a difference
City & State presents the 2026 Trailblazers in Law. Marc Goldberg; Hodgson Russ; Ray Felix
When Robert F. Kennedy was a U.S. senator representing New York back in the 1960s, he offered an idealistic vision of our country: “The spirit of our democracy is that we live together by the rule of law; that we constantly seek the truth; that we speak out when we disagree and we speak up for unpopular causes; that our government exists for the people and not the people existing for the government.”
Decades later, it’s a credo that’s as timely as ever. Battles over presidential power have been playing out in courtrooms across the country, with the most consequential ones making their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The bedrock principle of the rule of law has been tested again and again. But as political divisions drive bitter disputes over basic facts, the judicial branch remains an important and independent arbiter of what is true while continuing its role as a check on the other branches of government.
City & State’s annual Trailblazers in Law features exceptional leaders in the legal field who are carrying out their mission, standing up for their profession and maintaining the rule of law in an era of uncertainty.
Rolando Acosta
After more than a quarter century as a trailblazing judge, Rolando Acosta in 2023 left the bench and joined the litigation practice at Pillsbury. Acosta was the first Dominican immigrant to be elected justice of the Supreme Court of New York County and went on to spend six years as presiding justice of the Appellate Division, First Department. During his state Supreme Court tenure, he launched the Harlem Community Justice Center, a multijurisdictional community court program, and authored a landmark ruling on the New York City Human Rights Law. He remains a staunch defender of the rule of law.
Dwayne M. Andrews
With decades of experience in government and government relations, Dwayne M. Andrews brings his expertise to his clients at Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates. Andrews understands federal policy, having served as press secretary for former Rep. Floyd Flake and as a staff member for the House Small Business Committee. The firm’s clients include Genting New York, Uber, New York University, the Real Estate Board of New York, One Fair Wage and JPMorgan Chase & Co. As general counsel, Andrews is also the chief legal officer of the lobbying firm.
Kenneth Applebaum
Some of New York City’s largest infrastructure projects came into the world because Kenneth Applebaum was there to help pave the way. With over a quarter century of expertise in eminent domain law, Applebaum has focused on assisting government agencies obtain land as well as navigate legal challenges, valuation disputes and other issues. Applebaum represents the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in acquiring the land needed for the Second Avenue subway. He also represented Amtrak in the Gateway tunnel project to obtain a large tract of land on Manhattan’s West Side.
Michael Avella
A former chief counsel to the state Senate majority under two majority leaders, Michael Avella has a deep understanding of how Albany works – especially when it comes to taxation, the budget, and racing and gambling policy. Avella now uses that know-how to guide clients at Dickinson & Avella. Among his clients are Silvercup Studios, Capital Region Gaming, Rush Street Gaming, NBCUniversal and the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York. He has also served on the state’s Deferred Compensation Board and the Franchise Oversight Board.
Joseph Belluck
A nationally recognized mesothelioma and asbestos lawyer, Joseph Belluck stands out not only for his career as a litigator but also as a dedicated public servant. In the courtroom, he recently won the largest asbestos verdict ever in upstate New York. In the public service arena, he is in his 17th year on the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, currently serving as chair of the oversight body for judges. He is also the chair of the state Cannabis Advisory Board and is a member of the SUNY board of trustees.
Joshua Bloodworth
With Empire State Development in the middle of a number of groundbreaking economic development projects across New York, Joshua Bloodworth is making sure everything from real estate development to tax credits is legally compliant. Among the projects Bloodworth has been working on is the development of Empire AI, the revitalization of Buffalo’s inner and outer harbors, and the ConnectALL universal broadband initiative. Prior to joining ESD, he was deputy general counsel of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Aria Branch
Aria Branch has reshaped New York’s elections. She represented Democrats in a successful case to keep the state’s vote-by-mail law in place. She represented voters who challenged New York’s 2022 congressional redistricting process, resulting in the state’s current district lines, and recently won a case that could redraw Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ largely Staten Island district on the grounds that the current map dilutes the voices of Black and Latino voters. Branch counsels clients on business related to the Federal Election Commission, congressional ethics committees and New York’s campaign finance and ethics regulators.
Lesley Brovner
After wrapping up her more than four-year tenure as first deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation in 2018, Lesley Brovner and her old boss, Mark Peters, launched the boutique litigation firm Peters Brovner. The firm, which handles civil litigation, internal investigations and regulatory matters, benefits from the deep government and prosecutorial experience that Brovner brings, including stints as chief compliance officer with the state Liquidation Bureau, as an assistant state attorney general and as an assistant district attorney in Queens.
Christian Browne
An expert in land use law, Christian Browne helps clients navigate the intricacies of planning, zoning and real estate development in New York City and across Long Island. This includes complex litigation matters and matters of constitutional concern in state and federal courts and state Article 78 proceedings. A former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, Browne was a New York City deputy director of city legislative affairs in the Giuliani administration and served on the staff of a previous New York City Charter Revision Commission.
Erica Buckley
Erica Buckley played a key role in the development of the state’s Affordable Housing Retention Act, which passed last year. Buckley helped develop consensus among stakeholders across the housing sector to finalize the legislation, which will preserve affordable housing units as they expire. A former chief of the Real Estate Finance Bureau in the state Attorney General’s Office, she is an expert in condominium and co-op law and works with clients on legal and regulatory issues across the spectrum of housing agencies. She leads the firm’s Cooperatives & Condominiums and State Attorneys General practices.
Miguelina Camilo
Miguelina Camilo made history this year by becoming the first woman and first Latina to serve as the chief of staff to the speaker of the New York City Council. Appointed by Council Speaker Julie Menin in January, Camilo joins the city’s legislative branch after serving as counsel to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in Albany. While in state government, Camilo negotiated a number of high stakes pieces of legislation, including last year’s discovery reforms. Now, she is Menin’s right hand as the speaker negotiates the city budget and key legislation with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Brielle Christian
While New York’s judiciary plays an essential role in interpreting state law, the third branch of government is also a large and complex state agency with a legislative agenda in Albany. Brielle Christian ensures that the New York State Unified Court System communicates its needs to the legislative and executive branches. Christian brings experience as an Assembly and state Senate staffer as well as a gubernatorial attorney to her role representing the court system’s interests in state policymaking and budgetary processes.
John J. Ciafone
A well-known fixture in legal and political circles in Queens and across New York City, John J. Ciafone is a trial attorney with expertise in personal injury and medical malpractice law. Ciafone is also a part-time administrative law judge, a volunteer chaplain and a volunteer emergency medical technician. Ciafone unsuccessfully sought a Civil Court judgeship last year. He has represented his wife, Broadway Stages President and CEO Gina Argento, in a bribery case he has denounced as a “witch hunt.”
Michael Coffey
An expert in insurance defense law with over 150 trials and hundreds of arbitration and mediation cases under his belt, Michael Coffey is rethinking how law firms operate. The founding partner of Coffey Modica is utilizing technology and a vision of a nimble and efficient firm to create a practice where attorneys can reduce their focus on paperwork. He has expanded in fewer than five years from one office in Tarrytown to eight offices across five states. He served on former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman’s U.S. Military Academy Selection Committee.
Anthony Collura
Expertise in compliance, economic analysis, forensic accounting, internal investigations, litigation support and analysis are sought-after in business, and Anthony Collura has those worlds covered. The chief legal officer and chief operating officer of Guidepost Solutions, Collura leads the firm in providing expert analysis and consulting services to companies in a wide range of industries. Among the industries served by Guidepost are insurance, financial services, digital media, entertainment, telecommunications, construction and transportation.
Terry Connors
One of Western New York’s top litigation attorneys, Terry Connors has been involved in some of the most high-profile and politically consequential cases in the region. He represented former acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon in a successful legal battle with the city comptroller over issuing bonds to finance Scanlon’s capital project agenda. Connors also represented a number of families of victims of the Tops supermarket mass shooting on Buffalo’s East Side and one side in the break-up of iconic Buffalo personal injury law firm, Cellino & Barnes.
John Cordo
A top Albany lobbyist, John Cordo has a track record of success on behalf of his clients with matters before state government. This includes representing a number of health care companies and helping Genting New York be able to open and operate the Resorts World New York City casino in Queens. Cordo brings a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise to his firm, including service as a special counsel to the state Senate majority. Cordo’s current clients include Uber, VNS Health, 1199SEIU and Dish Network.
Jennifer Cowan
Many leaders in Big Law are focused on billable hours, but Jennifer Cowan is not one of them. At the white-shoe law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, Cowan directs an award-winning pro bono program, which is involved in more than 900 matters each year in housing, litigation, nonprofit organization, immigration and other areas. She is also the firm's first director of corporate philanthropy, overseeing its charitable programs. She oversaw representation of more than 200 refugees who fled Afghanistan in 2021 and has advised nonprofits on their risks under the Trump administration.
Anthony Crowell
Anthony Crowell is emphasizing the “New York” in New York Law School. Crowell’s vision to better connect the school with New York City is becoming a reality, as it saw a 31% bump in applications in 2025, well above the national average. Last year, Crowell appointed the school’s inaugural chief of economic development programs and strategies, with a mandate to increase engagement with the surrounding Tribeca neighborhood to develop economic growth strategies. Crowell, a former counsel in the Bloomberg administration, is also director of the school’s Center for New York City and State Law.
Ariana Dindiyal
Ariana Dindiyal is establishing herself as a thought leader on several of the biggest topics in law and finance: artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. The BakerHostetler attorney focuses her thought leadership in these emerging technologies on the new legal and regulatory impacts. She is also the president-elect of the South Asian Bar Association, working on initiatives to promote South Asian legal community professional development. She is a former New York City assistant corporation counsel.
Sean Doolan
As the president of the Albany-based law firm Hinman Straub, Sean Doolan puts to use his expertise at the intersection of government and health care, insurance and technology law. Doolan has built out a practice focused on government relations and corporate law, providing expertise to clients as they navigate the complex regulatory and legislative landscape surrounding the health care and insurance sectors. He tackles transactions and complex legal problems with creativity and determination.
Melinda Dutton
An expert in health care law, Melinda Dutton has been integral to the formation of Manatt Health, the innovative practice model at Manatt that integrates health care-related work from multiple perspectives with over 260 professionals. She also helps lead the firm’s State Health Transformation business unit and helped design and implement North Carolina’s Health Opportunities Pilots program, which has been cited for its innovation. She also serves on the board of the Community Service Society of New York and recently completed a six-year term on Manatt’s board.
Michelle Espey
An expert in state and federal tax law, Michelle Espey is often called upon to solve complex taxation issues on behalf of her clients at Farrell Fritz. The chair of the firm’s Tax Practice has advised individual clients on tax issues, along with counseling nonprofit organizations in dealing with the complexities of state and federal tax rules governing the sector. Espey has also worked with estates in navigating estate tax cases on the federal and state levels. She volunteers with an American Bar Association program to provide tax assistance to military members. She’s also chair of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Tax Committee.
Howard Fensterman
The politically connected leader of Abrams Fensterman, Howard Fensterman continues to expand the scope and size of his Long Island and New York City law firm. Early this year, Fensterman announced a merger with Rosenberg & Steinmatz, a firm specializing in real estate law. Fensterman maintains bipartisan political ties, with former Eric Adams chief of staff Frank Carone serving as of counsel with the firm, and close ties to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican gubernatorial nominee. Blakeman is a former partner at the firm.
Karlyne Fequiere
As the chief assistant corporation counsel at the New York City Law Department, Karlyne Fequiere oversees two of the agency’s largest divisions, Tort and Workers’ Compensation. In 2021, Fequiere became the department’s chief diversity officer, overseeing workplace discrimination issues. Most of her more than 25 years at the Law Department was spent in the Bronx Torts Division, including service as the division’s borough chief. She now has a new boss, with Steven Banks succeeding Muriel Goode-Trufant as the city’s corporation counsel.
Margaret Finerty
A former New York City Criminal Court judge, Margaret Finerty is an expert in anti-fraud litigation, business integrity and state and federal False Claims Act cases. She routinely represents whistleblowers exposing fraud against the government, including those exposing fraud under federal securities and tax laws. In 2024, she secured a $263 million IRS tax fraud recovery from an individual taxpayer under the IRS Whistleblower Act. She has found creative applications for the New York False Claims Act. She is also educating people about the United Kingdom’s new whistleblower program involving the national tax agency.
Andrew Finkelstein
Last summer, Andrew Finkelstein was named president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, a 3,500-member professional association with a substantial influence in city and state policy in New York. Finkelstein is a veteran trial attorney who leads a handful of law firms, including Finkelstein & Partners; Jacoby & Meyers; Fine, Olin & Anderman; and Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber. On his watch, NYSTLA pushed successfully for New York City’s new gender-motivated violence protection law and for the state Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay Act, or the AVOID Act.
Amy Fisher
As the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has racked up a number of accomplishments in recent years, including the completion of multibillion-dollar projects at its major airports in the region, Amy Fisher has helped ensure the bistate agency dots its i’s and crosses its t’s. Now the Port Authority’s general counsel, Fisher first came on in 2017 as first deputy general counsel and has navigated legal aspects of projects such as the completion of the reconstruction of the new Goethals Bridge, new air and marine terminal leases and airport redevelopment.
Stan Germán
At New York County Defender Services, Stan Germán and his team are a voice for the voiceless, in the courtroom and in calling for systemic changes. The public defender organization backs state Chief Judge Rowan Wilson’s proposal to expand treatment courts. In December, the organization accused the city Department of Correction of turning an incarcerated person over to federal immigration officials without a judicial warrant. Germán is president of the Chief Defenders Association of New York and the immediate past chair of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
Sophia Gianacoplos
Representing attorneys in perhaps the most powerful county in the country, the New York County Lawyers Association addresses issues from the local to the national, while maintaining its founding principle of inclusion. Sophia Gianacoplos runs the Manhattan-based association, which applauded a federal appeals court last year for blocking tariffs on the grounds that the ruling aligned with the rule of law and limits on presidential power. The association also signed on to the Principles for the Independence of the Legal Profession, one the first bar associations to sign on the document.
Jerry Goldfeder
The dean of New York election attorneys, Jerry Goldfeder fights for the country’s constitutional democracy from his perch as director of the Voting Rights and Democracy Project at Fordham Law School and as senior counsel at Cozen O’Connor. The author of “Goldfeder’s Modern Election Law” is a frequent commentator on election law matters, authoring analyses on federal election law cases and offering insights in the media. He served on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s transition team and is chair of the American Bar Association’s Election Law Committee.
Bradford Gonzalez-Sussman
Bradford Gonzalez-Sussman is dedicated to pushing for changes to New York on procurement and regulatory matters. The director of government affairs at Advocates for Justice Chartered Attorneys provides government relations advice on a wide range of issues, including procurement, public funding, community relations and advocacy. Gonzalez-Sussman is also government affairs director for the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade and a Board of Assessment Review member in the town of Greenburgh. He previously worked in the state Attorney General’s Office and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office.
Chris Hazen
Yaffed, or Young Advocates for Fair Education, was founded in 2012 on the principle that Haredi and Hasidic students deserve a sound basic education, and since 2022, Chris Hazen has provided in-house legal firepower. Hazen helped secure a ruling in 2022 requiring the state Education Department to complete an investigation that ultimately found 18 private Jewish schools had deprived students of a basic education. He also filed an amicus brief in a 2025 case that affirmed the state education commissioner’s power to decide if a private school is providing an education that is “substantially equivalent” to public schools.
Linda Heinberg
A former corporate attorney, Linda Heinberg now focuses on helping New York’s nonprofit sector address the affordable housing crisis. As Transactions Sections chief in the Charities Bureau of the state Attorney General’s Office, Heinberg oversees the approval of hundreds of church sales or mortgages and nonprofit assets transfers or mergers. She uses her position to protect charities from exploitation by unscrupulous developers – while paving the way for affordable housing developments on charity-owned land and ensuring charitable groups receive the proper value for their assets.
Larry Hutcher
Larry Hutcher, who co-founded the New York legal and lobbying powerhouse Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, is a corporate attorney focused on commercial litigation at both the state and federal levels. An expert on “business divorce” matters, often represents majority and minority equity holders and others in ownership disputes and complex intra-corporate conflicts. He has also represented developers, condo shareholders and co-op owners in complex disputes, in addition to international diamond conglomerates and private equity firms. He has also dealt with matters affecting New York City’s restaurant industry.
Brian Johnson
For over two decades, Brian Johnson has been hard at work representing the people of Mount Vernon, first as the city’s deputy corporation counsel and since 2020 as the corporation counsel. As the head of the city’s Department of Law, Johnson oversees all legal matters for city government, including litigation, policy formation, human resources matters, land use law and insurance issues. At times, Johnson’s work takes on the surreal, including successfully arguing that the city did not owe a former employee quintillions of dollars.
Ramzi Kassem
Ramzi Kassem has represented high-profile clients, but his new job as chief counsel to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has him advising his most prominent one yet. Kassem went to City Hall after being co-director of Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility, or CLEAR, where he provided counsel to people facing deportation. Kassem, who’s also been a CUNY School of Law professor, was the attorney for former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who has been at the center of a deportation battle following his leading role in the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia’s campus.
Lina Khan
Lina Khan, a scholar, consumer advocate and former Federal Trade Commission chair, recently served as a high-profile adviser to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a transition team co-chair, bringing a laser focus on affordability. She studied the city charter and other laws to find every power in Mamdani’s arsenal to tackle rising costs. Khan reportedly zeroed in on a seldom-used 1969 law on “unconscionable” business practices, which could be deployed to tackle price tags on items ranging from hospital medications to stadium hot dogs.
Aminta Kilawan
Aminta Kilawan has a varied legal and policy portfolio covering homelessness, public benefits and child welfare. Social justice is a consistent element of her work inside and outside of government. She is the founder and director of the South Queens Women’s March, a movement based on gender justice, and a co-founder of Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus. She has drafted and helped to pass over 35 pieces of legislation, including the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act and a measure requiring menstrual products in schools, jails and shelters.
Saritha Komatireddy
Saritha Komatireddy’s background as a former federal prosecutor and now as a partner at Holtzman Vogel will be a major part of her pitch to become New York’s next attorney general. The Republican Party nominee is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where she held several leadership roles. A former chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Komatireddy started her career as a law clerk for now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Steven Kramer
Steven Kramer is an expert in elder law and trusts and estates law. Over the past decade, Kramer has positioned Feldman, Kramer & Monaco as an in-demand legal service plan provider law firm, representing hundreds of labor unions and over 500,000 individuals. His team offers estate planning and legal services to union members and their families. With a passion for elder law, he has helped create one of New York’s leading law firms. Kramer is a third-generation graduate of St. John’s University School of Law.
Jason Lilien
One of New York’s leading experts in nonprofit law, Jason Lilien literally wrote legislation governing nonprofit organizations in the state. A former Charities Bureau chief in the state Attorney General’s Office, Lilien was the principal author of the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013, which was the biggest reform of the state’s charities law in decades. During his tenure as the state’s top charities regulator, he updated other state laws as well. Lilien has used his expertise to help create the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
Kapil Longani
Kapil Longani is SUNY’s chief legal officer, defending the country’s largest public institution of higher education during a period when colleges and universities are under attack. He has coordinated efforts to challenge cuts to federal research funding, battled efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and taken steps to combat antisemitism on campuses. He also founded the AI Legal Institute at SUNY. In his role as general counsel, Longani also oversees a wide range of everyday legal matters on behalf of SUNY, from litigation to contracts to compliance.
Sonia Low
Conventions, hospitality and tourism are big business in New York City, and Sonia Low is a behind-the-scenes figure in the sector in her role at the Javits Center. Low, who joined the team in 2019 and was promoted to senior vice president and chief legal officer in January, has delivered expert legal advice in the governing and growth of the center. Previously, Low was the general counsel to The ONE Group Hospitality, a global hospitality company. Earlier in her career, she was the general counsel for the Chinese-American Planning Council.
Abbe Lowell
When the Trump administration comes sniffing around, who are you going to call? Abbe Lowell! The veteran litigator has halted – for now – White House efforts to remove Lisa Cook from her post as a Federal Reserve governor, and he helped state Attorney General Letitia James fend off a federal criminal case. Lowell also represented members of the Trump family – Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner – during Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation in President Donald Trump’s first term. Lowell, who also represented Hunter Biden, said his efforts are a continuation of commitment to battle federal overreach.
Benjamin Malerba
An accomplished health care legal expert, Benjamin Malerba navigates the complicated maze of state and federal regulations governing the critical sector. With intricate knowledge of the regulatory environment governing health care, he represents his clients before various bodies, including the state Department of Health, the state Public Health and Health Planning Council and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights. Based in Rivkin Radler’s Uniondale office, he serves as co-chair of the firm’s Health Services Practice Group and is also a member of the firm’s Privacy, Data & Cyber Law Practice Group.
Washcarina Martinez Alonzo
Washcarina Martinez Alonzo is on a mission to improve New York, and she’s making progress. A senior staff attorney at Manhattan Legal Services, which is part of Legal Services NYC, Martinez Alonzo recently co-authored “The Far-Reaching Impact of ACS’s Discriminatory Investigations on Women of Color and Survivors of Gender-Based Violence.” This report into New York City Administration of Children’s Services practices led to the passage of the state’s new Anti-Harassment in Reporting law and increased scrutiny of the state’s family regulation system.
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci
Tanya Martinez-Gallinucci wants to protect and cultivate organizations that provide pathways to diversify the legal profession. She runs the New York City Bar Association’s Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and has also been leading the incubation of the National Association of Pipeline Organizations, which represents groups focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession. Martinez-Gallinucci has convened organizations to build the infrastructure to advocate for pipeline groups, developing a roadmap to grow NAPO and a mentoring program to create this movement.
Scott Matthews
Last year, Scott Matthews was elevated to managing partner of Windels Marx, a midsize law firm where he also serves on the executive committee. The distinguished attorney, who has been at Windels Marx since 2004, has extensive experience and expertise in complex commercial litigation, including business disputes and employment law. His clients have included national and local companies across a wide range of industries, such as transportation, manufacturing, retail, financial services, private equity and real estate companies. The firm’s previous managing partner, Robert Luddy, led the firm from 2001 to 2025.
Kevin McGrath
For anyone who needs to navigate New York City’s real estate and tax landscape, having Kevin McGrath at your side is a plus. McGrath is a preeminent expert on property tax certiorari and an expert on the vast scope of city and state real estate and zoning law. He has amassed a wealth of experience shepherding some of the city’s most discussed development projects to life. With these contributions, McGrath has helped shape New York City’s skyline. He also advised both former Gov. Hugh Carey and former New York City Mayor Abe Beame.
Randy Moonan
At the law firm Sills, Cummis & Gross, Randy Moonan works with clients with proceedings before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The New York-based attorney has handled high stakes litigation involving fraud accusations, public corruption and insider trading. He represents international financial institutions, middle market companies and entrepreneurs before the SEC, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general offices nationwide. He is a board member of the New York Professional Advisors for Community Entrepreneurs.
Ali Najmi
Judicial appointments are one way that a New York City mayor leaves a lasting mark, and Ali Najmi will be advising Mayor Zohran Mamdani on that front. As the new chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary and a longtime ally of the mayor, Najmi is tasked with implementing an executive order to diversify judicial appointments, which will be carried out by engaging with public defenders, the legal services community and family court attorneys to widen the judicial applicant pool. The founder of his eponymous law firm, Najmi Law, he specializes in criminal defense and election law.
Jeanne Ortiz
In January, St. John’s University School of Law announced a record-breaking donation from alum Rose DiMartino and her spouse, Karen Sue Smith, for the newly renamed DiMartino/Smith Public Interest Center. The multimillion-dollar gift will support pro bono work and help subsidize summer positions at nonprofits, courts and government agencies. Jeanne Ortiz, an acclaimed pro bono expert, runs the center, which engages with more than 300 students annually. She also teaches disaster law and led the development and launch of Advocates for Disaster Justice, a national network of legal professionals supporting disaster survivors.
Mark Partnow
After more than two decades serving as a judge, Mark Partnow changed course and is now a senior partner at Liakas Law, where he represents individuals in injury cases. As a trial attorney, Partnow focuses on getting the most he can for his clients and to provide them with the funds they need to continue their lives following a construction or industrial accident. During Partnow’s first year as a state Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn, he handled criminal cases, later moving on to hear civil cases for the remainder of his time on the bench.
Alex Peña
Alex Peña has had a varied career: an aide in the state Senate, a presidential appointee in the U.S. Department of Transportation, an associate at several international law firms and a staffer for the Obama, Biden and Harris presidential campaigns. Today, he’s pushing the policy priorities of the Partnership for New York City and its 300-plus member businesses. Peña helped promote congestion pricing last year and more recently pushed for the release of federal funding for the Gateway project. In Albany, he has been advocating for artificial intelligence legislation that balances regulation without slowing industry development.
Adam Perry
Adam Perry is a lawyer’s lawyer, with extensive experience representing other attorneys as well as lobbyists and municipal leaders. He’s also a recognized expert on cannabis law, serving as an inaugural member of the state’s Cannabis Control Board, a role in which he helped shape the policies and regulations to govern the newly regulated industry. Perry is the longest-serving board member of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which governs the Buffalo region’s airports and mass transit. As the authority’s aviation committee chair, he has overseen projects to expand Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
E. Danya Perry
E. Danya Perry stands in fear of no one, including the president. Perry has represented Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former attorney, in his legal battle with Trump. She also co-authored a Brookings Institution report on the Jan. 6 hearings and matters of criminal law impacting Trump. She’s a go-to advocate for victims of workplace misconduct as well, often winning major settlements on their behalf. Prior to forming her firm, Perry was a federal prosecutor in New York and was chief of investigations for the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption.
Mark Peters
Mark Peters broke onto the political scene in 2014 when he was appointed commissioner of the 500-person New York City Department of Investigation under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio – and went on to make headlines for investigating the city’s Department of Correction, Department of Buildings and the New York City Housing Authority. In 2019, he helped launch Peters Brovner, a boutique litigation firm that handles civil litigation, internal investigations and regulatory matters. Among his recent clients are a government agency facing attacks from the federal government as well as nonprofit and for-profit entities owed money by the city.
Lisa Rivera
As president and CEO of the New York Legal Assistance Group, Lisa Rivera is focused on protecting the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Over the past year, she has spearheaded efforts by NYLAG to safeguard the state’s Consumer Director Personal Assistance Program during a highly scrutinized state transition to a single fiscal intermediary. NYLAG has also secured reforms to end delays in the processing of SNAP benefits and cash assistance. With the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement, Rivera has focused on immigration advocacy, including pushing to obtain stronger city and state protections.
Paul Sarkozi
From complex litigation regarding hedge funds and other companies in the financial services industry to navigating New York’s cannabis law, Paul Sarkozi has established himself as a top attorney. The chair of Tannenbaum Helpern’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice has represented clients across a range of industries in complex commercial cases ranging from trade secrets to business breakups. He has also been appointed by two state chief judges to serve on panels governing commercial litigation and dispute resolution. He’s also the board secretary for the Fifty Vanderbilt Foundation, which supports the Yale Club of New York City.
John Schmidt Jr.
With vast experience in complex commercial litigation, John Schmidt Jr. represents clients in courtrooms and at the negotiating table. A member of Phillips Lytle’s Business Litigation team, Schmidt has three decades of experience representing clients across a range of industries, including health care, energy, technology, manufacturing, legal services, education, local government and finance. With deep expertise in the federal and state courts, Schmidt has been appointed as a receiver in complex cases, including those requiring fraud investigations.
Karl Sleight
Karl Sleight is steeped in the intricacies of the sports, casino and gambling industries – and brings that knowledge to his clients. The Saratoga Springs office leader at Lippes Mathias has spent more than a decade navigating New York’s casino selection processes – both in 2014 and 2025 – mobile sports wagering and thoroughbred racing industries. He has also served as a special counsel to professional sports leagues and was an organized crime prosecutor in the state Attorney General’s Office.
India Sneed-Williams
India Sneed-Williams is an attorney equally comfortable handling matters of law, business and government. The founder of the boutique law firm IQEQ Law provides expert counsel in government procurement, election law, minority- and women-owned business enterprises, government affairs and commercial law. Prior to founding her boutique law firm, Sneed-Williams served as executive director of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn and as deputy executive director of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety in New York City.
Tom Stebbins
Tom Stebbins is a steadfast believer that one of the keys to delivering a more affordable New York is tort reform. As the head of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, Stebbins has applauded Gov. Kathy Hochul for her vetoes of the Grieving Families Act, but he also believes that there is more to be done to combat what he considers an overly litigious landscape. He has called on state legislators to stop including litigation-friendly clauses to new state legislation and is arguing that artificial intelligence regulatory legislation can open up new lawsuits in the state.
Adam Taubman
In a city of islands where land is limited and real estate is an influential industry, Adam Taubman knows how to guide developers, large institutions and investors through the labyrinth of New York City land use. Among his recent accomplishments are helping the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey secure discretionary approvals for the $10 billion redevelopment of its Midtown bus terminal and assisting a senior affordable housing developer and operator in obtaining approval for a 115-unit expansion of its Queens campus. He also is an expert on complicated office-to-residential conversions.
Milton Tingling
Retiring as a judge doesn’t have to mean the end of a career – just look at the example of Milton Tingling. Since he stepped down as a justice for the New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term in the 1st Judicial District of New York, Tingling has embarked on a new chapter as the clerk of New York County. As the first Black person to become a county clerk in New York, Tingling has championed diversity in the public sphere. He also has modernized his office with digital technology and other innovations.
Joan Vollero
A former communications director in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Joan Vollero knows firsthand the critical role of communications in legal battles. Now a partner at ICR, the strategic communications adviser focuses on federal and state criminal issues, mass torts and business disputes. She has recently advised a plaintiffs law firm that represented thousands of institutional sexual abuse survivors; an individual freed after a nine-month illegal detention in a foreign country; a criminal defense firm that had a defendant charged in a well-known prosecution; and an investor pursuing multijurisdictional fraud claims across the globe.
Edward Wallace
As a top real estate attorney with firsthand experience in local government, Edward Wallace has provided expert counsel to New York City’s developers. He’s a veteran attorney at Greenberg Traurig, where he serves as co-chair of the firm’s New York office. A former member of the New York City Council, Wallace also was chief of staff to the New York City Council president. Wallace is active in civic affairs, serving as executive committee vice president for the Citizens Budget Commission and as board chair of the French American Foundation.
Douglas Wigdor
Dubbed “America’s most prominent #MeToo lawyer” by the Financial Times, Douglas Wigdor has built a career as a civil rights advocate who takes on those in power. Wigdor has represented clients in legal battles against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Madison Square Garden, Harvey Weinstein, Disney, Miramax and the National Football League. Wigdor’s recent accomplishments include an eight-figure settlement against Intel over antisemitic retaliation; a landmark discrimination case that Brian Flores brought against the NFL; and Roe v. Garth Brooks, which involved claims of celebrity-driven legal intimidation.
Patrick Wildes
Last year, Patrick Wildes returned to his alma mater, Albany Law School, as the new director of its Government Law Center. His homecoming came after he served nearly five years as the governor’s assistant secretary for human services and mental hygiene, where he was instrumental in directing the Hochul administration’s historic $1 billion investment into mental health. This year the Government Law Center welcomed its largest ever cohort of fellows. Wildes still weighs in on policy matters, praising the governor’s mental health agenda and criticizing federal cuts for mental health and opioid overdose prevention.
Kenneth Zebrowski
Former Assembly Member Kenneth Zebrowski is now at top lobbying firm Brown & Weinraub, guiding clients through the halls of power that he knows well. During his time in the state Capitol, Zebrowski earned plaudits as an effective lawmaker while chairing the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee, the Banks Committee and the Government Operations Committee and also co-chairing the Administrative Regulations Review Commission. The attorney’s lobbying clients this year include Meta, the American Beverage Association, Rockland County and the New York Association of Towns. He’s also president of the Rockland Business Association.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the number of businesses that are members of the Partnership for New York City. It is 300-plus, not 800. This post has also been updated to reflect that Alex Peña at the Partnership for New York City worked for the Obama, Biden and Harris presidential campaigns.
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