Ramzi Kassem: Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect, just picked Ramzi Kassem as chief counsel, the city’s top lawyer. Mamdani doesn’t take office until January 1, 2026, but he’s already rolling out big appointments.
Along with Kassem, Mamdani named Steven Banks as corporation counsel and Helen Arteaga as deputy mayor for health and human services. He’s called both picks essential for standing up for working people and pushing for justice across the city. Still, not everyone’s convinced, thanks to the attorneys’ track records.
Who is Ramzi Kassem?
He’s spent years working in law and policy. Kassem worked as a senior policy advisor on immigration for the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Biden. But that’s not all, he’s also taken on some pretty controversial cases.
For example, he was the lead lawyer for Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty to charges tied to an al-Qaeda attack on a French oil tanker off Yemen’s coast. That attack killed one person and injured several. Al-Darbi was convicted in 2017 and sent to Saudi Arabia the next year.
When al-Darbi was transferred, Kassem told reporters, “While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed… He had 16 long and painful years in captivity.”
Kassem’s name also came up in 2025, when he represented Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student and anti-Israel activist arrested by ICE for allegedly leading anti-Semitic demonstrations on campus. Khalil got out, but his case is still playing out in court.
Welcome to A New Era, Ramzi Kassem!
Ramzi Kassem joins the administration from the City University of New York School of Law, where he co-founded and now co-directs CLEAR (Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility), which has been on the front lines of providing… pic.twitter.com/KmDmYGFTbg
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 31, 2025
Why did Mamdani pick Kassem?
Mamdani says he picked Kassem because of his experience and his fierce commitment to defending people the legal system usually leaves behind. “City Hall will be stronger with him in it, and our work of building a more prosperous city for all will have a powerful advocate,” Mamdani said.
Kassem also started the CLEAR law clinic, which helps Muslim and other New York communities that often find themselves under federal scrutiny.
“My sincere hope is that New Yorkers who have long felt on the margins, homeless veterans, patients searching for care, immigrants trying to get by will feel they now have leaders in their corner who understand their struggles and are ready to fight for them,” Mamdani added.
Now, about Steven Banks. Mamdani tapped him to run the Law Department as corporation counsel. Banks, who once worked for Mayor de Blasio, calls himself a “public interest social justice attorney.”
He’s got four decades of legal work behind him, including time as the city’s director of homeless services. There, he helped design the “right to shelter” law, which stirred up plenty of debate. In 2024, Banks pushed back when Mayor Eric Adams tried to chip away at that same law.
Banks hasn’t dodged criticism. The NY Post pointed out that an audit during his time under de Blasio found financial mismanagement and problems at nonprofit shelters. Even with that, Mamdani backed him, saying, “With Steve Banks as our corporation counsel, our City will operate in accordance with the law and use it as a critical tool to fight for working people.”
