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 jury and bench trials in federal and state courts and argued more than 100 appeals 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 USA, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500 and Lawdragon. Mr. Mastro has earned trial lawyer of the year honors, 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 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 earned the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the John Marshall Award, the Director’s Award for Superior Performance, and the Lumbard Bowl, awarded annually to distinguished alumni of that office.

He chairs the United Nations Development Corporation and 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.