NYC Mayor’s Top Lawyer Brendan McGuire Rejoins WilmerHale

Brendan McGuire, who left his position as chief counsel to New York City Mayor Eric Adams earlier this year, is returning to law firm WilmerHale to start an advisory practice for clients navigating the city’s thorny legal and regulatory systems.

McGuire spent less than two years working for Adams. During that time he helped manage the negotiation of the city’s outstanding labor contracts and the rapid arrival of more than 130,000 migrants since April 2022.

He also oversaw a portfolio of eleven city offices and agencies and managed the city’s criminal justice and public safety agenda, as well as issues related to the notorious jail complex at Rikers Island, among others. McGuire said he hoped to put some of the experience he gained in City Hall to work in his new practice at WilmerHale.

“The idea would be to offer the experience and the insight that I’ve been fortunate to gain in my 20 months at City Hall to clients that are already doing business in New York, contemplating doing business in New York, or have any kind of regulatory or litigation needs in New York,” McGuire said by phone.

A native New Yorker, McGuire has a family history in public service. His father, Robert J. McGuire, was police commissioner under former Mayor Ed Koch, and his grandfather served for decades in the New York Police Department.

McGuire, who was a partner at WilmerHale before joining the Adams administration, also has over a decade of experience at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted high profile public corruption, terrorism and arms-dealing cases.

McGuire returned to WilmerHale this week. His former boss at SDNY, former US Attorney Preet Bharara, is also a partner there.

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