Civil and White Collar Criminal lawyer as NY city counsel

New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio picked a former U.S. attorney to be the city’s top Civil Fraud practice and White Collar Criminal lawyer yesterday (Sunday). De Blasio appointed Criminal lawyer Zachary Carter to be the city’s corporation counsel and head its law department. Carter is currently a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP law firm. He earned his law degree from New York University School of Law.

De Blasio signaled that attorney Carter would immediately change direction from some of the positions held by the law department under outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Additionally, de Blasio said he would follow through on a campaign promise to settle a lawsuit brought by five black and Hispanic boys.
With the help of a criminal law firm. they sued police and prosecutors for $250 million but the lawsuit has languished for a decade.

Carter was the first African-American to be named U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District when he was tapped for that post by former President Bill Clinton in 1993.

“Throughout my career as an attorney, I tried to use the law to level the playing field for those seeking access and equal opportunity,” said Carter, who echoed many of de Blasio’s progressive campaign themes. “We have failed as a society when we don’t meet the needs of the least advantaged among us.”

During the six years he held the post, attorney Carter oversaw high-profile prosecutions including the police officers convicted of abusing Abner Louima in 1997. Carter was also involved in the prosecutions of former Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante and those responsible for the death of Yankel Rosenbaum during the 1991 Crown Heights riots.

He has spent recent years in private practice as a Civil Fraud practice and White Collar Criminal lawyer.