Mamdani
announced
new
appointments
to
his
administration,
including
Steven
Banks
as
the
city’s
top
lawyer.
(Photo
by
Selcuk
Acar/Anadolu
via
Getty
Images)
New
York
City’s
Law
Department
is
about
to
get
a
serious
(and
overdue)
reboot.
New
York
City
Mayor
Zohran
Mamdani
announced
last
week
that
Steven
Banks
will
take
the
helm
as
Corporation
Counsel,
pairing
the
appointment
with
an
ambitious
plan
to
expand
the
department
by
at
least
200
lawyers.
Mamdani
didn’t
mince
words
about
the
current
state
of
affairs.
“There’s
a
clear
need
for
a
few
hundred
additional
lawyers
at
the
Law
Department,
just
from
the
beginning
of
it,”
he
said,
pointing
to
the
growing
need
for
legal
services
for
immigrant
New
Yorkers.
He
added
that
the
Law
Department,
once
“on
the
front
lines
of
equal
rights
across
the
country,”
has
been
“hollowed
out”
in
recent
years.
His
goal?
A
Law
Department
that
is
fully
staffed,
assertive,
and
unapologetically
engaged
in
advancing
the
administration’s
agenda.
Enter
Banks,
whose
résumé
reads
like
a
blueprint
for
exactly
that
kind
of
transformation.
Banks
spent
three
decades
at
the
Legal
Aid
Society,
building
a
career
around
public
service
and
impact
litigation.
Banks
spent
eight
years
in
NYC
government
too,
as commissioner
of
the
New
York
City
Department
of
Social
Services
under
Mayor
Bill
de
Blasio.
Most
recently,
he
led
the
pro
bono
department
at
Paul,
Weiss,
where
he
was
responsible
for
steering
one
of
Biglaw’s
most
powerful
institutional
resources
toward
public-interest
work.
And
then
came
the
Trump
deal.
Banks
didn’t
quietly
shuffle
along
when
Paul,
Weiss
capitulated
to
Donald
Trump,
striking
a
deal
that
promised
the
president
$40
million
in
pro
bono
services.
Instead,
he
very
publicly
quit
in
a
move
that
spoke
volumes
about
his
professional
priorities.
In
a
legal
market
that
too
often
treats
“principles”
as
optional
when
powerful
interests
come
calling,
Banks
made
it
clear
that
his
weren’t
for
sale.
That
makes
him
a
fitting
choice
to
lead
a
Law
Department
that
Mamdani
wants
back
on
offense.
“I
know
firsthand
the
key
role
that
the
staff
of
the
Law
Department
can
play
in
supporting
[Mamdani’s]
vision
and
agenda
for
transformative
change,”
Banks
said,
emphasizing
that
the
job
is
ultimately
about
helping
New
Yorkers.
In
an
era
when
too
many
institutions
are
shrinking
back,
cutting
deals,
or
retreating
into
defensive
crouches,
New
York
City
is
signaling
something
different.
With
Steven
Banks
at
the
helm,
the
Law
Department
looks
poised
to
become
a
legal
engine
for
the
public
good.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
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@Kathryn1 or
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@[email protected].