Michael A. Cardozo

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American lawyer (1941–2025)

title: "Michael A. Cardozo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1941-births", "2025-deaths", "brown-university-alumni", "columbia-law-school-alumni", "government-lawyers", "lawyers-from-new-york-city", "lawyers-from-scarsdale,-new-york", "new-york-city-public-officials", "people-from-westport,-connecticut", "presidents-of-the-new-york-city-bar-association", "proskauer-rose-partners", "20th-century-american-lawyers", "21st-century-american-lawyers"] description: "American lawyer (1941–2025)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_A._Cardozo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American lawyer (1941–2025) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

FieldValue
nameMichael A. Cardozo
imageMichael_A._Cardozo.jpg
altCaucasian exhibiting male-pattern baldness smiling; wearing spectacles, a blue suit and red tie
captionCardozo in 2013
order77th
officeCorporation Counsel of New York City
1blanknameMayor
1namedataMichael Bloomberg
term_startJanuary 1, 2002
term_endDecember 31, 2013
predecessorMichael D. Hess
successorZachary W. Carter
birth_date
birth_placeNew York City, U.S.
death_date
death_placeWhite Plains, New York, U.S.
spouse
children2
alma_materColumbia Law School
occupationLawyer
::

| name = Michael A. Cardozo | image = Michael_A._Cardozo.jpg | alt = Caucasian exhibiting male-pattern baldness smiling; wearing spectacles, a blue suit and red tie | caption = Cardozo in 2013 | order = 77th | office = Corporation Counsel of New York City | 1blankname = Mayor | 1namedata = Michael Bloomberg | term_start = January 1, 2002 | term_end = December 31, 2013 | predecessor = Michael D. Hess | successor = Zachary W. Carter | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = White Plains, New York, U.S. | birthname = | citizenship = | nationality = | party = | spouse = | relations = | children = 2 | residence = | alma_mater = Columbia Law School | occupation = Lawyer | signature = | signature_alt = | website =

Michael A. Cardozo (June 28, 1941 – July 23, 2025) was an American lawyer. From 2002 through the end of 2013, he was the Corporation Counsel for the Government of New York City, appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Cardozo was a partner at the law firm Proskauer Rose, and a former president of the New York City Bar Association.

Early life and education

Michael A. Cardozo was born on June 28, 1941, in New York City to homemaker Lucile and real estate broker Harmon Cardozo. He grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City, before moving to Westport, Connecticut while in grade school. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1963 from Brown University, and his Juris Doctor degree in 1966 from Columbia Law School. He clerked for Judge Edward Cochrane McLean from 1966 to 1967.

Career

In 1967, Cardozo joined the law firm of Proskauer Rose and became a member of the Litigation Department. He became a partner in 1974 and served in that capacity until 2002, when he was appointed Corporation Counsel of New York City. While at Proskauer, Cardozo helped to develop the firm's sports law practice and represented, among other clients, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. Cardozo was elected three times to the firm's executive committee and co-chaired its litigation department from 1987 to 1991.

In 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him the City's 77th Corporation Counsel, the City's chief legal officer. He held that role for 12 years, for the full three-term tenure of the Mayor, the longest anyone has served in that capacity since the Office was created in the mid-19th century. Under Cardozo, the city vigorously defended stop-and-frisk practices. He also worked to address illegal guns, and on initiatives to ban smoking and require calorie information to be posted in restaurants. In 2009, 18 of 20 judges from the First Judicial Department of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court signed a letter rebuking Cardozo for his "imperious" criticisms of the court's culture, which he had said was introducing delays.

From 1996 to 1998, Cardozo was president of the New York City Bar Association.

In 2014, Cardozo was succeeded by Zachary W. Carter. That year, he returned to Proskauer. In 2019, he successfully represented Judith Alice Clark, the getaway driver in the 1981 Brink's robbery, in seeking parole after having served 39 years in prison. Cardozo retired from Proskauer at the end of October 2022. In September 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Cardozo to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. He was re-appointed in 2024.

Cardozo was a longtime member of the board of the Citizens Union government reform organization. He was a member of the advisory board of the legal education non-profit Legal Outreach. He also served as Chair of the Columbia Law School Board of Visitors, and the Fund for Modern Courts, a non-partisan citizen organization devoted to improving New York State courts. He also previously chaired the New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation. He chaired two court-system task forces appointed by New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Sol Wachtler.

Personal life and death

Cardozo married Nancy Caryn Cardozo () in 1965. They had two children. Cardozo split his time between New York City and Scarsdale, New York. Cardozo's great grandfather's first cousin was United States Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo.

Cardozo died after a brief illness on July 23, 2025, at the age of 84.

Awards

References

References

  1. (May 28, 1973). "Harmon Cardozo, 59, Dies; A Realty Executive Here". [[The New York Times]].
  2. Wise, Daniel. (August 15, 2005). "Under Cardozo, Law Department Strives for a Big-Firm Image". [[New York Law Journal]].
  3. Chan, Sewell. (April 3, 2009). "Cardozo Sets Record for Tenure as Corporation Counsel".
  4. (2008). "Third Annual Diversity Champion Award".
  5. "In Memoriam: Michael A. Cardozo".
  6. (April 22, 2014). "Michael Cardozo '66 Recounts Career in Government Service, Obligations of Chief Legal Officers".
  7. Chen, David W.. (December 17, 2009). "From State Judges, a Rebuke of a Top Bloomberg Adviser". [[The New York Times]].
  8. Correal, Annie. (December 29, 2013). "De Blasio Names City's Top Lawyer, Appearing to Signal a Further Shift in Policy".
  9. Gold, Michael. (April 17, 2019). "Judith Clark, Getaway Driver in Deadly Brink's Heist in 1981, Is Granted Parole". [[The New York Times]].
  10. Lee, Brian. (July 24, 2025). "Michael Cardozo, Former NYC Corporation Counsel and Proskauer Partner, Has Died".
  11. Lewis, Rebecca C.. (July 13, 2022). "New York's new ethics agency is still taking shape".
  12. (July 24, 2025). "Citizens Union on the Passing of Board Member, Michael Cardozo". [[Citizens Union]].
  13. (August 19, 2024). "Governor Hochul Announces Renomination for the Commission on Ethics in Lobbying and Government". Governor Kathy Hochul.
  14. "Columbia Law School : Cardozo in the Wings: Part 1".
  15. "Michael Cardozo Obituary (1941 - 2025) - Legacy Remembers".
  16. (April 2025). "55th Annual George A. Katz Torch of Learning Award Luncheon".
  17. (November 5, 2007). "Wien Prize Awarded to Cardozo and Michelson". [[Columbia Law School]].
  18. "Cyrus R. Vance Tribute".
  19. (August 2021). "Emory Buckner Award". [[Federal Bar Council]].
  20. (December 12, 2013). "Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to Honor Law Department Staff at 32nd Annual Awards Ceremony". New York City Law Department Office of the Corporation Counsel.
  21. "Past Awards Dinner Honoree Biographies".
  22. (October 2013). "Please join us as we honor". Fund for Modern Courts.
  23. Flaherty, Scott. (September 1, 2015). "Lifetime Achiever: Michael Cardozo, Proskauer Rose".
  24. (May 24, 2016). "New York Urban League Frederick Douglass Dinner 2016". [[Harlem World]].
  25. "2017 Human Relations Award Luncheon Honoree: MICHAEL A. CARDOZO".

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