New York 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
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...
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...
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
General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Administration Officer | Unisys
Chief People Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Edgewell Personal Care
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 &...
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 and Chief Legal Officer | Verizon
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
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 | 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
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel | New York Racing Association
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer | Verisk
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...
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...
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...
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.
On 26 February, Legal 500 returned to Lagos to launch the latest edition of the GC Powerlist: Nigeria, hosted at the exclusive Metropolitan Club and attended by more than 100 senior in‑house lawyers from across the country. The evening brought together many of Nigeria’s most influential corporate counsel for a programme that blended recognition, thought leadership and high‑level networking in a setting that reflected the prestige of the series. Honourees were celebrated for the impact they have made within their organisations, their contributions to the wider legal ecosystem and their ability to drive innovation and strategic value across sectors ranging from finance and energy to technology and consumer markets.
The event opened with remarks from David Freeman, Global Business Development Manager at Legal 500, who spoke about the significance of the GC Powerlist in Nigeria and the evolving role of in‑house counsel as strategic leaders. He highlighted the growing influence of general counsel in shaping governance, regulatory engagement and business transformation, setting a purposeful tone for the evening.
The programme continued with insights from two distinguished speakers. Adedoyin Afun, Partner at Bloomfield, offered a forward‑looking analysis of Nigeria’s regulatory and transactional landscape, noting the increasing pressures and opportunities facing in‑house teams as they navigate compliance shifts, cross‑border transactions and the expectation to operate as commercial partners. He was followed by keynote speaker Angela Omo‑Dare, retired General Counsel of Stanbic IBTC Group, whose reflective address on leadership, ethics and the long‑term development of legal teams resonated strongly with the audience. Drawing on her extensive career, she underscored the GC’s role as an ethical steward, culture‑shaper and trusted adviser to senior leadership.
After the formal proceedings, guests enjoyed dinner and continued discussions on emerging trends shaping the Nigerian legal landscape, from regulatory reform and investment flows to legal operations and talent development. The atmosphere remained warm and engaged throughout, reinforcing the sense of community that has become synonymous with the GC Powerlist.
Overall, the GC Powerlist: Nigeria 2026 launch event ultimately reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to celebrating and elevating the work of general counsel in one of Africa’s most dynamic markets. With its combination of high‑calibre speakers, strong industry representation and meaningful recognition, the event stood out as a defining moment in the 2026 calendar and further strengthened the platform’s role as a convening force for leadership and professional excellence within Nigeria’s in‑house legal community.
Legal 500 extends its sincere thanks to Bloomfield Law for its invaluable support of this year’s publication.
