Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Mitra Hormozi, the former Special Deputy Chief of Staff for the New York Attorney General’s Office and the current chair of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Commission on Public Integrity, has joined the Firm as a partner in the New York office.
“Mitra has proved to be a tenacious and skilled advocate during her time in public service, and brings to Kirkland senior-level experience at the New York Attorney General’s Office, an increasingly important office for financial institution clients facing investigations. Her experience complements that of our white collar attorneys with experience in other areas of government including the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among other government posts, and we believe Mitra will be a tremendous asset to our clients facing government investigations,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee.
In January 2011, Ms. Hormozi was appointed by Gov. Cuomo to chair the Commission on Public Integrity, a group charged with policing ethics violations by public officials and lobbyists.
In 2008, she was appointed special deputy chief of staff in the New York Attorney General’s Office by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. In that role, she coordinated major initiatives involving public integrity and consumer fraud, and had oversight for regional office initiatives.
Prior to that, Ms. Hormozi spent six years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where she was the chief of the organized crime and racketeering section and received numerous top law enforcement awards. During that time, she helped convict mob boss Joseph Massino, and two retired New York detectives who had had side jobs as hit men for the mob, among other convictions.
“The former prosecutors, senior government officials and trial lawyers that comprise Kirkland’s white collar and enforcement group are outstanding. I am honored to join them and excited about returning to private practice,” said Ms. Hormozi.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Hormozi was an associate at Kronish, Lieb, Weiner and Hellman, and an honors attorney in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Ms. Hormozi, 42, is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the New York University School of Law.
Kirkland’s White Collar Criminal Defense & Securities Enforcement Practice Group consists of nationally recognized attorneys including the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the former head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Fraud Section, a former Assistant Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Enforcement, and several former federal prosecutors and senior lawyers from the SEC. The Firm’s lawyers have represented clients before nearly every federal and state agency, including the SEC, the DOJ, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Association of Securities Dealers, and numerous administrative agencies, including judicial and congressional review committees.
