Randy Mastro
Partner | New York
Randy Mastro

Randy M. Mastro, Global Co-Chair of the Securities and Complex Litigation practice group, focuses on high-stakes litigation representing corporations, executives and public entities in complex civil litigation, securities disputes and white collar matters.

Mr. Mastro has tried more than 30 trials and argued more than 100 appeals in federal and state courts nationwide. He has secured precedent-setting victories, including a federal RICO judgment barring enforcement of a multibillion dollar foreign judgment procured by fraud against Chevron, a complete defense verdict in the SEC's largest individual enforcement action against a fund manager, and a Supreme Court win overturning capacity limits on houses of worship during COVID. The New York Times has called Mr. Mastro the "go-to" litigator for cases against the government, but he has also been the counsel of choice for government officials facing legal challenges, such as the New Jersey Governor's Office during Bridgegate.

He ranks among the nation's top trial lawyers in Chambers, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500, Lawdragon, the Daily Journal, Law360, and the National Law Journal. Mr. Mastro has earned trial lawyer of the year honors twice, hall of fame distinctions and litigation star status in multiple peer-review publications, and he is a six-time recipient of The American Lawyer "Litigator of the Week" honors.

Before joining Dechert, Mr. Mastro served as First Deputy Mayor and Acting Mayor of New York City, making him the first person in modern city history to serve as top deputy mayor and acting mayor in two different administrations. He previously served as Chief of Staff, Deputy Mayor of Operations and Acting Mayor in the late 1990s. Prior to that time, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Civil Division in the Southern District of New York, where he led the landmark racketeering suit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and received the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award, the John Marshall Award, Director's Award for Superior Performance, and the Lumbard Bowl, awarded annually to distinguished alumni. He also clerked for Justice Alan Handler of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

He chairs the Hamptons International Film Festival. He also chaired Citizens Union, a leading New York good government group, and was vice-chair of the Legal Aid Society. He handles high-profile pro bono matters, from protecting peaceful demonstrators in Lafayette Park, to securing reinstatement of a public school teacher fired for giving her class an assignment on racism, to successfully advocating for the families of fallen 9/11 firefighters. He has taught civil litigation and legal writing at the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham Law Schools. He has also authored numerous law review articles and newspaper op-eds, and before becoming a lawyer worked as a journalist at The Washington Post.

  • Won landmark Supreme Court ruling on behalf of Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn barring Governor Cuomo from imposing onerous fixed-capacity restrictions during the pandemic on “houses of worship” of 10 people in “red” zones and 25 people in “orange” zones, in violation of the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion protections. The victory was front-page news throughout the country and caused a sea change in how states regulated religious institutions during the COVID-19 crisis. For this and another COVID U.S. Supreme Court victory, he was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.”
  • Won seven-week bench trial in the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) as lead trial counsel for Chevron in its RICO case barring U.S. lawyer Steven Donziger and his clients for obtaining an $18 billion Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron procured by fraud and for engaging in a pattern of racketeering to extort money from Chevron. Presented the opening, closing and rebuttal closing at trial, and examined and cross-examined the key witnesses (including cross-examining the lead defendant, Steven Donziger, and the Ecuadorian judge who claimed to have authored the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment, Nicholas Zambrano, but who instead allowed the judgment to be ghostwritten in exchange for a bribe). Michael Goldhaber wrote in The American Lawyer that Randy’s cross-examination of Judge Zambrano was the turning point of the trial that will be talked about “in the annals of courtroom history,” and that the closing argument “out­classed” the opposition. And Paul Barrett of Bloomberg Businessweek wrote in his book that Randy’s cross-examination of Donziger was “blistering.” The American Lawyer called the Chevron case “The Trial of the Century”; The Wall Street Journal dubbed it the “The Legal Fraud of the Century”; and Benchmark Litigation named Randy “Trial Lawyer of the Year.” Also for Chevron, he blocked enforcement of a sham $18 billion foreign arbitration award procured by fraud, eerily reminiscent of the earlier $18 billion fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment. For each of those wins, he was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.”
  • Conducted a 25-day bench trial in the S.D.N.Y. as lead trial counsel for Lavastone, an AIG affiliate, in its $1 billion RICO, breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment case against Alan Buerger; his son, Reid Buerger; and the “Coventry” family of companies owned and operated by them. Lavastone’s claims concerned the Buergers’ practice of purchasing life insurance policies, laundering them through a shell company and then selling them to Lavastone at inflated prices. Successfully argued for summary judgment on Lavastone’s breach of contract claim against Coventry. Presented the opening, closing and rebuttal closing at trial, and examined and cross-examined the key witnesses, including the Buergers. Post-trial, the parties settled their differences, with one market participant saying that Alan Buerger “had to get his butt kicked first” before agreeing to settle the case.
  • Defended Lynn Tilton and her company, Patriarch Partners, against U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud charges over her management of a distressed debt CLO fund where the SEC sought disgorgement of more than $200 million and Lynn Tilton’s debarment for life as an investment advisor. Forced to go to trial in the SEC’s internal tribunal, Tilton turned to Randy to defend her, publicly describing him as the “General” of his (prior) firm’s litigation “army.” And go to war he did, mounting a vigorous defense during a three-week trial that vindicated her in the eyes of courtroom observers. Indeed, press accounts described the trial as “tilt[ing] in Lynn Tilton’s favor,” reporting that “Lynn Tilton’s lawyer, Randy Mastro, knows how to get attention with an opening statement” and “easily outdueled the SEC’s legal eagles.” In the end, the SEC ALJ issued a 57-page decision dismissing all of the SEC’s charges and finding all of the SEC’s factual allegations “unproven.” It was a stunning rebuke for the SEC, whose Enforcement Division wins 90 percent of the cases it brings before its in-house ALJs. But not this time. For achieving this extraordinary result, Randy was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.” Also won outright dismissal in the S.D.N.Y. of a sweeping civil RICO action brought against Tilton and her company seeking more than $1 billion in damages against them.
  • Represented Madison Square Garden (MSG) and Cablevision on multiple high-profile litigation and other matters, including winning court rulings upholding MSG’s controversial adverse attorney ban, for which he was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.” Also successfully represented MSG and others in litigations challenging, and ultimately defeating, the City’s sweeping proposal to build a new stadium for the Jets on Manhattan’s West Side. Successfully defended Cablevision and MSG in $100 million antitrust suit brought by the New York Jets over their failed stadium bid.
  • Won major constitutional ruling in the S.D.N.Y. blocking onerous donor disclosure requirements imposed by New York State on “good government” groups like Citizens Union of the City of New York that had been critical of the Cuomo Administration, and also received attorneys’ fees award.
  • Successfully defended DraftKings against State Attorney General litigations over the legality of daily fantasy sports in New York, Illinois and Texas. In the New York action, argued with prominent co-counsel against a preliminary injunction application, with commentators tweeting from the courtroom that “DraftKings got their money’s worth today” from its legal team, calling “Mastro, in particular,” “riveting.” Obtained a stay pending appeal and then resolved the case through state legislation legalizing daily fantasy sports in New York.
  • Represented New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s Office in the Bridgegate investigation, conducting an extensive internal investigation and producing a 245-page report identifying who was responsible for the lane closures, which turned out to be the same individual later charged by federal prosecutors. Also represented the Governor’s office in navigating its voluntary responses to federal, state legislatures and local investigators.
  • Represented Bear Stearns in resolving 100 securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigations involving IPO allocation and research analyst issues. Won dismissal of shareholder derivative action against Bear Stearns and its directors over alleged research analyst conflicts. Represented Bear Stearns officers and directors in obtaining dismissal of shareholder derivative actions over subprime issues.
  • Represented Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) on the appeal of a Bankruptcy Court decision that affected billions of dollars in transactions in the Lehman bankruptcy proceeding. The bankruptcy court’s decision caused turmoil in the international securitization markets by invalidating market-standard provisions in credit default swap agreements that were designed to protect those who invested in Lehman products. BNY was the trustee over the collateral securing those products; both the current noteholders and a Lehman subsidiary claimed priority to that collateral. English courts found for the noteholders; the bankruptcy court found for Lehman. When the district court agreed to entertain BNY’s appeal, the parties settled, relieving BNY of any potential liability.
  • Band 1 in Litigation: General Commercial, New York – described as “a world-renowned litigator,” and praised for his “exceptional public reputation,” who “just owns the courtroom,” is “in a class by himself,” “masters the facts of a case quicker than anyone I've ever met,” “can take on anyone,” “shows grace and style under pressure,” and is "so persuasive" and "smart," "a force of nature“ and "really fearsome advocate.” Chambers USA, 2004-2025
  • Band 1 in Litigation: Trial Lawyers Nationwide – described as “one of the premier litigators in the country,” who enjoys an “exceptional public reputation” and is “one of the most effective courtroom lawyers I’ve seen.” Chambers USA and Chambers Global, 2014-2026
  • Named "Business Trial Lawyer of the Year.” Chambers USA, 2017
  • Named to the 2024 Class of the Lawdragon “Hall of Fame.” Lawdragon, 2024
  • Named among "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America." National Law Journal, 2013
  • Named to Lawdragon's "500 Leading Litigators in America." Lawdragon, 2023-2025
  • Named in “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in American,” “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and a “Litigation Star" – described as a “brilliant and effective litigator” who is “perennially revered,” with peers noting, “You do not want to meet Randy down a dark alley, but you REALLY don’t want to meet him in a lighted courtroom,” and “going against him” is “like wrestling an alligator.” Benchmark Litigation, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020-2024
  • Named a “Trial Lawyer MVP,” Law360, and a "Leading Commercial Litigator,” Daily Journal, 2024
  • Ranked “Hall of Fame” in Disputes Resolution – International Litigation, General Commercial Disputes, and “Leading Trial Lawyers” in the U.S. – described as “immensely impressive,” “simply excellent,” “flawless,” “captivating,” “in a league of his own,” and “deserves an Academy Award” for “bringing a sense of drama and theater to his courtroom appearances.” The Legal 500, 2022-2025
  • Ranked “Leading Lawyers” in Corporate Investigations and White Collar. The Legal 500, 2022-2024
  • Named on the Law Power list as one of the “most influential” and “powerful leaders in New York’s legal community.” City & State, 2021-2024
  • Named one of this past year's “Winners of the Year” in local and state government. City & State, 2025.
  • Received the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Alumni Society’s Alumni Award of Merit. University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2023
Services
    • Yale University, B.A., 1978, cum laude
    • University of Pennsylvania, J.D., 1981, Moot Court Champion
    • New York
    • New Jersey
    • Pennsylvania
    • New Jersey Supreme Court, Honorable Alan B. Handler

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