What Lawyers Are Expecting From a Mayor Mamdani

The 34-year-old social media-savvy democratic socialist soon to take over New York City Hall never quite inspired the Am Law 100.

But it’s a big industry.

Here’s what’s on the minds of a cross-section of New York lawyers as Zohran Mamdani looks to chart a new course for the city that’s home to the nation’s largest legal market.

Some lawyers are struggling with costs here, too.

“The city’s gotten too expensive for middle-class and even professional people,” said E.E. Keenan, who runs an employee-side law firm with his wife, Sonal Bhatia.

Keenan and Bhatia each gave $12,500 to a pro-Mamdani PAC.

“If you’re a high-flying big firm partner, you might support the corporate agenda because you’re tied into it,” Keenan told me. “But if you’re part of the other 99% of the legal profession, that doesn’t work for you. Mamdani is going to tackle the cost-of-living issue that affects the majority of the legal profession just like it affects everybody else.”

Public defenders have new capital.

Rarely before has a mayoral candidate so closely aligned with the city’s public defenders, but they proved to be valuable allies. The regional United Auto Workers chapter that represents the city’s 4,000 indigent legal service workers endorsed Mamdani early and often.

Jane Fox, chair of The Legal Aid Society union chapter, told me she hopes he’ll now help raise their salaries and give the group “a seat at the table.” Twyla Carter, CEO of The Legal Aid Society, congratulated Mamdani in a statement — and called on him to close Rikers.

Watch: Can Mamdani Win Over Wall Street?

His criminal-justice policies may come under quick scrutiny.

Mamdani reassured moderates like Gov. Kathy Hochul when he said he wants NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to stay put. But for Fox, “that’s a real question mark. We are very cautious in seeing how that relationship would unfold.”

Tax attorneys are ready to get to work.

Timothy Noonan, a partner at Hodgson Russ, was getting calls and emails with questions about Mamdani on Wednesday. On the minds of clients: “How does New York City define residency?” Noonan told me.

With Mamdani vowing to raise the personal income tax on city residents, some are considering what leaving looks like. Still, Noonan cautioned, Mamdani would need Albany’s approval for such a hike, and that may never come.

Some prominent lawyers were skeptics to the end.

Martin Edelman, of counsel at Paul Hastings, gave a pro-Cuomo PAC $50,000 in the final weeks of the campaign. He declined to comment.

Floyd Abrams, senior counsel at Cahill, backed Cuomo. He told me in an email Wednesday he hopes that as Mamdani “seeks to make major changes in our society, he recalls that in much of the rest of the world the very sort of vibrant advocacy he engaged in that persuaded a majority of New York voters to support his candidacy would have resulted in his longtime incarceration.”

Abrams, known for First Amendment work, said he was referring to free association and expression rights.

Mamdani Taps Lina Khan; Tisch May Stay

Catch up on the start of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition:

• Former FTC chair Lina Khan joined his transition team, a figure who raised the ire of big businesses with her tough approach to antitrust cases. Khan will advise Mamdani on economic policy and personnel. Read More
• New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch is willing to stay put if Mamdani allows her to keep pursuing her agenda. Tisch hasn’t publicly commented on Mamdani’s announcement that he’d ask her to stay, but privately she’s said she wants assurances she can keep working on lowering crime if she remains on the job. Read More
• Mamdani’s relationship with President Donald Trump will be crucial — and tricky. Keeping his promises will require money from the federal government, which provided $7 billion for the city’s budget this year. Trump has already derided him as a “communist lunatic” and made clear he’ll squeeze access to funds. Read More
• Will Albany green-light Mamdani’s progressive plans? It’s complicated. Gov. Kathy Hochul “won’t view the mandate of the city as a mandate for Buffalo, for Long Island, for Oneida,” said Lupe Todd-Medina, a Democratic strategist, who warned that Mamdani’s win won’t guarantee him a political honeymoon. Read More
• New York City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker will step down Dec. 19, becoming the first senior official to resign on the heels of Mamdani’s victory. A person familiar with Tucker’s decision said it was influenced by his Zionist views and belief that he could not serve under Mamdani, whose rhetoric about Israel has drawn backlash from Jewish leaders. Read More
• How to prep for the Mamdani era? “Businesses and wealthy city residents should establish a risk factor for each component of exposure — such as individual and corporate tax surcharges, real estate, and employment costs — that accounts for the likelihood of implementation and magnitude as applied to their footprint,” writes Cullen and Dykman’s David Wilkes in a Bloomberg Tax Insight. Read More

Companion AI Must Say It’s Not a Person

Beginning this week, AI companions will have to display a distinctive message before engaging in conversation with New York users: They aren’t human.

I’m Raga Justin, Bloomberg Government’s correspondent in Albany, where I’m on the ground talking to the lawmakers and lobbyists who haunt the state Capitol about New York politics.

New York lawmakers passed a law last spring adding new guardrails on companies that provide companion chatbots, mandating protocols for when a user says they’re experiencing suicidal ideation or want to self-harm. Companies must also provide frequent notifications that users are not talking to another real-life person.

So-called companion chatbots use generative AI to mimic a real relationship with human users. The measure takes effect as national concerns have surfaced about the impacts of human-like companionship provided by computers, especially on minors. At least two high-profile lawsuits filed by families against companion apps like ChatGPT or Character.AI claim that the chatbots were a driving factor in the suicides of two teenagers.

“More people are using AI for social interactions, and we’re very concerned about the vulnerable communities misusing these kinds of systems,” Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (D), who sponsored the bill, told me.

Vanel said the driver for the legislation was ongoing litigation against Character.AI, filed by Florida mother Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son died of suicide last year after entering a romantic relationship with a chatbot. The measure was approved through New York’s state budget last spring and went into effect Wednesday.

He added state lawmakers are contemplating further protections to protect people from “overuse” of similar platforms.

Finance

Javice Co-Defendant Amar Gets 68 Months for Defrauding JPMorgan

Olivier Amar, the executive convicted alongside Charlie Javice of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its $175 million acquisition of their student-finance startup, Frank, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.

Charlie Javice Accuses JPMorgan of ‘Hypocrisy’ on Legal Bills

Charlie Javice, who was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co., called the bank “hypocritical” for objecting to paying her legal bills, pointing out that it hired dozens of lawyers itself.

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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., its leaders, and a prominent venture capitalist have agreed to an $8.5 million settlement of investors’ claims that the company misrepresented spacecraft safety before going public, according to court filings.

JPMorgan CEO Sees Headcount Steady Despite AI: ‘Always Redeploy’

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon — weighing in amid a wave of job cuts at other employers — said headcount at the largest US bank will probably remain steady or rise as it continues to roll out artificial intelligence, if “we do a good job.”

In the Courts

Spotify Accused of Faking ‘Personalized’ Music Recommendations

Spotify USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action alleging the streaming service dupes users into believing they are receiving personalized music recommendations based on their listening tastes, when playlists are actually driven by pay-to-play practices.

Drugmaker to Pay $15 Million to End Investor’s FDA Letter Suit

Applied Therapeutics Inc. agreed to fork over $15 million plus stock warrants to resolve investor allegations the biopharmaceutical company misrepresented approval odds for treatment of a rare metabolic disorder treatment.

Policy & Politics

New York Pension Funds Ask SEC to Ax Curbs on Investor Suits

New York pension plans and other big investors have called on the SEC to reverse a new policy that lets companies push shareholders’ fraud claims into arbitration instead of litigation.

Business & Practice

Dechert Wants Junior Associates in Office Four Days Per Week

Law firm Dechert LLP is implementing a new in-office policy that treats its junior associates differently than its more senior attorneys.

Judiciary Panel Debates AI, Deepfakes as Shutdown Continues

The ongoing government shutdown’s impact on the federal courts was front-and-center at a judiciary panel meeting, where judges and lawyers debated ways to address artificial evidence and so-called deepfakes despite furloughs of court staff.

Greenspoon Marder Recruits Aviation Litigator Masuri in New York

Roy Masuri joined Greenspoon Marder as a partner in its litigation and aviation practice groups in New York, the firm announced Wednesday.

Akerman Boosts New York Fund Formation Practice With Mendez

Christopher Mendez joined Akerman LLP as a partner in its corporate practice group in New York, the firm announced Wednesday.

Paul Weiss Tech Partner Bolts to Head Freshfields AI Practice

New York technology lawyer Anna Gressel left Paul Weiss’ litigation department to lead the artificial intelligence practice at Freshfields LLP, the firm said Wednesday.

Commentary & Opinion

Single-Family Rental investors Are a Growing Enforcement Target

Companies and investors in the institutional single-family rental sector should carefully monitor this trend and take proactive compliance steps now to mitigate risk.

Negating Former Employees’ Confidential Witness Testimony

Confidential witnesses can pose danger in securities fraud litigation, but companies can take steps to protect themselves from disgruntled former employees before they leave.

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