Adams names new top City Hall attorney
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Lisa Zornberg was named Mayor Eric Adams’ new chief counsel on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
By Jacob Kaye
Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday tapped a former U.S. prosecutor to serve as City Hall’s top attorney as Chief Counsel Brendan McGuire prepares to depart the administration next month.
Lisa Zornberg, the former chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, was named City Hall’s next chief counsel by the mayor on Wednesday.
During a press conference announcing Zornberg’s appointment, the mayor called the Harvard Law School grad a “badass” and “straight shooter.”
“[Zornberg] is a dedicated public servant who has taken on the corrupt and the criminal, keeping our nation and our city safe,” the mayor said in a statement. “She knows what it takes to ensure justice is served and democracy is protected, and was even once dubbed ‘the tiny tornado’ for her work. We know she will now be a force for good for our city’s residents.”
Zornberg, a Brooklyn native, worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for a little over a dozen years, working in both its criminal and civil divisions. In the U.S. attorney’s office, which she first joined in 1998, she worked on a number of prosecutions, including of corporate and securities fraud, cybercrime, health care fraud, criminal violations of U.S. sanctions, Federal Corrupt Practices Act and RICO violations, terrorism, public corruption, construction fraud, art fraud, violence, and drug offenses.
“This is truly a tremendous honor – the honor of a lifetime,” Zornberg said of her appointment from City Hall on Wednesday. .
Currently, Zornberg works as a litigation partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, leading the firm’s white collar defense group. She also works on regulatory enforcement actions and internal investigations and other civil litigation cases.
Before joining the U.S. attorney’s office, Zornberg clerked for current-Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was working as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York at the time.
“I believe strongly in the power of good government,” Zornberg said. “Government run with integrity and passion for solving real problems remains the best way to lift up people and communities, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
Zornberg’s appointment also marks the departure of McGuire, one of several high-profile members of the Adams administration to leave before the close of the mayor’s second year in office.
“It has been a privilege to be a part of this team, and I’m grateful to Mayor Adams for giving me the opportunity to serve the city I love,” McGuire said in a statement.
“In Lisa, the city is gaining a dedicated, rigorous, and strategic leader who will hit the ground running in support of the administration and all New Yorkers,” he added. “I’m confident she’ll excel as our city’s next chief counsel.”
McGuire was Adams’ lead attorney through a vast majority of the city’s contract negotiations with its various unions. He was also the lead counsel to the mayor on a number of controversial policies enacted by City Hall and ongoing legal battles inherited by the administration.
“I want to thank Brendan for his service to this city, and for being one of my most trusted advisors and a close friend,” Adams said in a statement. “Since day one, he has been an independent thinker and he has never shied away from telling me like it is. He is a great legal mind, and he will be missed around City Hall.”
