New York City Law Department

The New York City Law Department, also known as the Office of the Corporation Counsel,^[1] is the department of the government of New York City responsible for most of the city's legal affairs.^[2] The department is headed by the Corporation Counsel, currently Georgia Pestana, the 80th official to hold this position.^[3]

The Law Department represents the mayor, city agencies, and city officials in all civil litigation, in juvenile delinquency proceedings in Family Court, and in prosecutions in the New York City Criminal Court under the New York City Administrative Code. Among the department's other duties are drafting contracts, leases, municipal bond issues, and other legal documents for the city; reviewing local and state legislation; and providing legal advice to city officials on a wide variety of issues.

The New York City Charter, the New York City Administrative Code, and the Rules of the City of New York are published online by under contract with the Law Department.^[4] The department's regulations are compiled in title 46 of the Rules.

History[]

The origins of the Law Department lie in the English office of the Recorder. After the City fell under British control following the Third Anglo-Dutch War, New York's Royal Governor Thomas Dongan^[1] created the Office of Recorder of New York City in 1683 to serve as legal and political counsel to the City Government.

After the American Revolution, New York City continued to grow, and during the 19th century, the City Council began hiring private attorneys to do the internal legal work of the City. When this arrangement proved unsatisfactory, due to the chaos of shifting the city's caseload between various outside counsels,^[5] the City Charter was amended in 1849 to create the Office of the Corporation Counsel (so named because New York City is a municipal corporation). The revision established an independently elected chief executive officer known as the Corporation Counsel, and a staff of five, to be known as the Law Department. Later, the Corporation Counsel began being appointed by the Mayor of New York City, as is still the case today.^[1]

Among the better-known cases that the department has litigated before the U.S. Supreme Court are Goldberg v. Kelly, Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, Ward v. Rock Against Racism, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, Permanent Mission of India v. City of New York, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York. The department also prepares amicus curiae briefs in many major court cases.

Organizational structure[]

The Law Department has 16 legal divisions and 5 support divisions. As of 2019, the department employs 1,000 lawyers and 890 support professionals in 20 offices located in all five boroughs, and an auxiliary office in Kingston, New York.

The legal divisions are:

• Administrative Law and Regulatory Litigation
• Affirmative Litigation
• Appeals
• Commercial and Real Estate Litigation
• Contracts and Real Estate
• Economic Development
• Environmental Law
• Family Court
• General Litigation
• Labor and Employment Law
• Legal Counsel
• Special Federal Litigation (handles civil rights lawsuits under 42 U.S.C. 1983 brought against police, District Attorneys, or correction officers)
• Tax and Bankruptcy
• Tort
• Workers' Compensation

The support divisions are:

• Administration
• Electronic Discovery Group
• Information Technology
• Litigation Support and Information Management
• Operations

See also[]

• The City Record
• Rules of the City of New York
• New York State Department of Law

References[]

Further reading[]

• Press release for "Fighting for the City", a history book about the Office of the Corporation Counsel

External links[]

• New York City Law Department
• Law Department in the Rules of the City of New York
• CityAdmin, a collection of NYC administrative decisions from the Center for New York City Law