PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Mark Kirsch, Partner at King & Spalding on Randy Mastro's Nomination
10:25:03
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140 sec
Mark Kirsch, a partner at King & Spalding, provides a strong endorsement of Randy Mastro for the position of Corporation Counsel. He highlights Mastro's legal skills, integrity, and commitment to ethics, diversity, and pro bono work.
- Describes Mastro as a "warrior diplomat" who can effectively manage difficult situations and achieve results
- Emphasizes Mastro's uncompromising integrity and leadership in ethical matters at law firms
- Provides examples of Mastro's initiatives for employee support during COVID-19 and his efforts to promote diversity in the legal profession
Mark Kirsch
10:25:03
Thank you.
10:25:03
It's a privilege to appear before the city council.
10:25:06
And to speak from my dear friend Randy Mastro, we've known each other and worked together as partners for 15 years.
10:25:12
You've heard enough about his legal skills.
10:25:15
I'll only note that Randy has been described today as a happy warrior.
10:25:18
That's an incomplete picture.
10:25:20
He's a warrior diplomat.
10:25:22
The warrior gets the headlines, the diplomat gets the results.
10:25:25
Randy knows how to keep temperatures down in very fraud situations, helping both parties get to something they can both live with.
10:25:34
That can a combination of skills, warrior diplomat, is rarer than you'd think.
10:25:38
And I think it can be useful to you.
10:25:41
All lawyers are agents, not principals.
10:25:44
As your lawyer Randy will never forget you're the principals.
10:25:48
He's the agent, and he will fight for your agenda to the fullest extent the law permits.
10:25:54
I'll briefly address Randy's character.
10:25:57
He's revered for his uncompromising integrity.
10:26:00
I've been in tight spots and cases with him many times.
10:26:04
I've never seen him suggest doing anything that even got close to the line in ethics much less over it.
10:26:12
At 2 leading law firms, he's been a destination for advice.
10:26:15
He puts ethics and con integrity as his foremost concerns.
10:26:19
I've never seen him depart from those principles.
10:26:22
Couple of quick examples.
10:26:24
At Gibson done during COVID, he created and led an effort to raise money from partners for all employees who needed support, who might have had COVID, or had a a spouse who lost a job or a child who was in the hospital.
10:26:40
He got a 100% participation from the partners raising 100 of 1000 of dollars.
10:26:44
And trust me in a large law firm getting a 100% agreement on anything, difficult.
10:26:50
Strong voiced, I think in New York, the largest office that Gibson done, the strongest voice for doing pro boner work and making sure all the associates and all the partners were committed to it.
10:26:59
Again, not an easy thing to do.
10:27:02
He's also a strong voice for diversities he's heard.
10:27:05
One thing I'll just say, you know, it's one thing to it's great to to hire women, people of color, and, you know, make sure they've they've got work to do.
10:27:14
It's a different thing to get them in front of clients so that they can build relationships where they become the relationship partners.
10:27:20
Randy was a master of doing that, committed.
10:27:23
Thank you.
