NEW YORK CITY LAW DEPARTMENT 2023 NOTABLE CASES & INITIATIVES
December 21, 2023
Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix Continues to Deliver on Her Promise to Advance the Interests of the City and its Residents
New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix today released a list of notable cases and initiatives undertaken by the New York City Law Department over the last 12 months, demonstrating the office’s continued commitment to advancing the interests of New Yorkers.
“The dedicated members of the Law Department work tirelessly to advance the welfare of this City and its residents,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix. “Their collective efforts have made impactful contributions that resonate throughout our City, improving the lives of New Yorkers and working towards a path for a more just and resilient New York City.”
Law Department highlights from 2023 include:
Furthering Public Safety: The Law Department played a key role in implementing reforms on the way the New York Police Department handles protests, enabling the NYPD to tailor its response to demonstrations based on specific conditions, ensuring the enforcement of the law while preserving citizens’ rights of free expression. The City also filed a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai over their failure to safeguard vehicles, and fought for sensible gun laws through amicus briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court as well as in cases to uphold New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
Ensuring Public Health: Settlements of lawsuits against distributors of flavored disposable e-cigarettes and related actions against several of those companies, underscore the Law Department’s dedication to curbing youth vaping and ensuring compliance with laws governing such products. New York City joined an amicus brief, supported by six municipalities nationwide, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to safeguard access to medication abortions and miscarriage management. The Law Department was instrumental in ensuring the U.S. Postal Service implemented reforms to prevent illegal cigarette deliveries through the mail, including shipments to minors. Additionally, the office worked to protect the City’s interests in settlement agreements with pharmacies, as part of a multi-district litigation and a separate New York State lawsuit, adding to the hundreds of millions of dollars in payments over time to be used to address and remedy the opioid epidemic.
Enhancing Ethics Training and Preventing Harm to the Public: The establishment of two new legal divisions- Ethics and Compliance, and Risk Management- has fortified the Law Department’s capabilities, providing a crucial resource for all City agencies. The Ethics and Compliance Division expands on the Law Department’s existing work to counsel and train Law Department employees, elected officials, and the employees of all City agencies on legal ethics, representation, privilege, and sanctions matters. The Division is responsible for counseling on a wide array of federal, state, and local compliance matters to mitigate risk to City operations and finances. The Risk Management Division builds upon existing Law Department work to monitor trends in tort litigation to reduce issues that give rise to lawsuits. The Division coordinates with the E-Discovery Division, expanding its existing preservation program to train more agencies and staff on the importance of early evidence preservation and assist them in establishing preservation programs. The Division also helps agencies create and maintain a proactive data management process so that, when lawsuits are filed, the Law Department has the data it needs to provide the appropriate defense. Risk Management also analyzes the impact of court appointed monitorships on related pending litigation across the Law Department.
Safeguarding Tenants Rights: The Law Department continues to bring cases against building owners who undermine the rights of tenants and violate the law. This year, the Law Department implemented comprehensive enforcement activities in roughly 50 open matters against landlords and compelled remediation of thousands of code violations, including bringing two new large portfolio lawsuits to improve the living conditions for thousands of tenants in more than 20 buildings.
These key efforts represent a small but significant portion of the work conducted by the Law Department during 2023.
The Law Department is one of the most unique legal offices in the country. The breadth and scope of its work is enormous. Attorneys and support professionals work on legal issues arising from the operations of a city with a $100 billion budget, and contracts totaling nearly $43 billion (which require Law Department approval under the City Charter).
The office handles questions of administrative law; represents the City in juvenile prosecutions; advises on complex real estate transactions; provides guidance on legislation; defends the City and its employees in tort, contractual, financial, employment and civil rights disputes in both state and federal courts, and so much more.
The interests of the City, and its residents, are always at the forefront when Law Department attorneys are in court defending important municipal initiatives and advising the City on various issues.
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