Global Head of Legal | Citi
Adam Meshel is Citi’s head of legal and serves as the general counsel and corporate secretary of Citibank and sits on Citibank’s executive management committee. Prior to his current role,...
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer | Fiserv
Global General counsel | dentsu
Alison Zoellner is the group general counsel for Dentsu Group. Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organisations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and...
General counsel, S&P Global Enterprise Data Organisation | S&P Global
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Labor Relations Officer | NYC Health + Hospitals
Chief Legal Officer | New York Jets
Andy Lee is in his second season as the chief legal officer of the New York Jets, after having previously served as the Club’s general counsel from 2005 to 2010,...
General Counsel | Condé Nast
Antonious Porch is the general counsel of Condé Nast. In his role as general counsel, Porch oversees all legal, business affairs, policy and compliance matters, while also serving as corporate...
Chief Legal Officer and Partner | Trian Fund Management
As Trian’s Chief Legal Officer, I oversee our firm’s legal, regulatory and compliance matters. Trian is an investment firm that manages capital for a global base of investors that includes...
General Counsel and Secretary | The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
Bridget Smith is the General Counsel & Secretary for The New York Public Library Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Prior to her role s General Counsel, she was Senior Counsel...
General Counsel | Candid
Carla R. de Passos is a legal executive with over two decades of experience. In the last eight years as a general counsel, Carla has built a reputation as a...
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Compliance Officer, Corporate Secretary | Avantor
Claudius Sokenu is Avantor’s Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary. He serves on Avantor’s executive leadership team and is responsible for the company’s legal,...
Deputy Commissioner, Baseball Administration and Chief legal officer | Major League Baseball
Executive vice president and Chief legal officer | The New York Times Company
Diane Brayton is the executive vice president and chief legal officer of The New York Times. In her role, she leads a legal team responsible for providing counsel on matters...
General Counsel | The New Yorker
Fabio is the General Counsel of The New Yorker, where he has served since 2014. In this role, he oversees all legal matters related to the magazine’s acclaimed journalism, including...
Senior executive vice president and general counsel | Bank of New York Mellon
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Charter Communications
Executive Vice President, Business Affairs & Chief Legal Officer | BSE Global
Jeff Gewirtz is the Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of BSE (BSE), a role he also held from 2010 through 2020. In 2021 he served as...
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | International Flavors and Fragrances
Vice President, Legal Affairs & General Counsel, North America | Hugo Boss
Jennifer Steindler Darling is currently the Vice President, Legal Affairs & General Counsel, North America for Hugo Boss Americas. In this capacity, she oversees legal, government relations, regulatory and compliance...
Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary | Cognizant
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel | New York Racing Association
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer | Verisk
General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Administration Officer | Unisys
Chief People Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Edgewell Personal Care
General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Talent | ICSC
Lesley Horton Campbell is the general counsel and senior vice president of Talent at ICSC, a trade association serving the retail real estate industry. She has nearly 20 years of...
Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Steve Madden
Lisa Keith is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Steven Madden, Ltd., where she oversees all legal matters for Steve Madden and its portfolio of brands,...
Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary | Omnicom Group
Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Seaport Entertainment Group
Lucy Fato is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Seaport Entertainment Group Inc., a NYSE-listed company recently spun off from Howard Hughes Holdings, Inc. In this role, she oversees...
Chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary | Spencer Stuart
Lucy Lopez is the chief legal officer and corporate secretary of Spencer Stuart, a global leadership advisory firm. She also leads the firm’s risk and sustainability functions and is an...
General counsel - New York Region | Suffolk Construction Company
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary | Loews
Marc A. Alpert is Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Loews Corporation. He joined Loews in 2016 after 30 years at the international law firm Chadbourne &...
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | PVH
Mark Fischer is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at PVH. Based at the company’s New York City headquarters, Mark oversees all legal matters for PVH. Mark joined...
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs | Warner Music Group
Senior Vice President and General Counsel | New York Life Insurance
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Head of Government Relations | MetLife
Partner and Chief Administrative, Legal & Compliance Officer | Palladium Equity Partners
Executive vice president and general counsel | Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Senior Partner and Chief Legal Officer | McKinsey & Company
Vice President & Chief Counsel, International Commercial Division | Pfizer
Ramzi is currently vice president and chief counsel, International Commercial Division, based in New York. In his role, Ramzi leads the legal team that supports the International Commercial Division and...
Executive vice president, general counsel | The Estée Lauder Companies
Executive Vice President: General Counsel, Chief Tax Officer, Deputy CFO & Chief Veteran Office | Paramount
Chief Administrative Officer and senior counsel | Endeavour & TKO
Seth Krauss is the Chief Administrative Officer & Senior Counsel to the Board of Directors and Senior Management of Endeavor Group Holdings and has served in that position since January...
General counsel and chief compliance officer | Bluevine
Sharon has over 19 years of experience practicing law and working with private and public companies. Serving as Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for the past 10 years at...
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary | Mellon Foundation
Executive Vice President, chief legal officer | S&P Global
VP, Chief legal officer and corporate secretary (Americas) | Toshiba
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | PBF Energy
Trecia M. Canty is an accomplished C-suite executive with 25+ years of demonstrated expertise in finance, strategic transactions, corporate governance, compliance, enterprise risk and ESG. She has extensive energy industry...
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | Verizon
EVP, Deputy General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary | TelevisaUnivision
Veronica Rodriguez serves as the Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary & Global Head of Corporate & Enterprise Functions at TelevisaUnivision. She is a core member...
General counsel & Chief Administrative Officer | PWC US
The Legal 500 is delighted to unveil the New York Powerlist 2025, a celebration of the exceptional legal talent shaping one of the world’s most dynamic cities. While this marks the inaugural edition focused exclusively on New York’s legal community, it is far from the first time we have spotlighted the city’s most accomplished legal leaders.
Historically, our focus was on the comprehensive Legal 500 US Edition. However, our strategy has since evolved, shifting toward a more localised approach that celebrates legal excellence in key cities across the United States.
This edition shines a light on 108 influential legal professionals across a diverse array of sectors, including hospitality, real estate, energy, finance, and the non-profit space. Meticulously researched over several months, the list honors those at the forefront of legal decision-making in the Big Apple.
Amidst an evolving regulatory landscape and increasing global demands, these Powerlisters share a common mission: to position their organisations for sustained growth and resilience. In conversations with many general counsel featured, a recurring theme is the vigilant observation of AI’s rapid influence on their roles, operations, and strategic outlook. Additionally, several honorees are driving major M&A activities and pioneering efforts in talent development, prioritising innovation, integrity, and dedication.
With this launch, Legal 500 expands its U.S. Powerlist portfolio — joining previous editions spotlighting talent in Atlanta, Texas, Puerto Rico, and Illinois — and adds to our global presence across 150 jurisdictions since 2015.
We extend our warmest congratulations to all those featured in the New York Powerlist 2025 and look forward to continuing this important research annually.
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’