Lisa Zornberg is a seasoned trial lawyer with deep experience in both criminal and civil matters—a rare combination that has shaped her strategic approach to complex cases. Her practice focuses on white collar defense, regulatory enforcement, internal investigations for corporations and financial institutions, and high-stakes civil litigation matters.
Most recently, Lisa served as Chief Counsel to the Mayor of New York City and City Hall, where she advised on legal and policy matters, acted as general counsel to over 1,000 employees, and supervised the City offices responsible for administrative trials, contracts, labor relations, and risk management.
Before her government service, Lisa was a litigation partner at a leading global law firm, where she also served as co-head of associate training for the litigation practice. Earlier, from 2016 through 2018, Lisa served as Chief of the Criminal Division at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In that role, she supervised approximately 170 federal prosecutors and oversaw criminal investigations and prosecutions of securities fraud, cybercrime, health care fraud, U.S. sanctions violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases, RICO violations, terrorism, public corruption, construction fraud, and art fraud and drug offenses.
Lisa began her career at the United States Attorney’s Office in 1998, rising to senior roles in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions. She served as Deputy Chief of Appeals in the Civil Division and Chief of the Complex Frauds Unit in the Criminal Division. Her work earned her the Justice Department’s John Marshall Award (2011) for prosecution of union corruption and the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation’s Prosecutor of the Year award (2010). A New York newspaper once dubbed her the “tiny tornado” for her intensity and courtroom skill—having tried 15 civil and criminal cases to verdict. Early in her legal career, she clerked for the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor, when Justice Sotomayor served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.
Lisa’s leadership in the legal community includes past service as National Vice Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) White Collar Committee, Co-Chair of United Jewish Appeal (UJA) White Collar & Securities Enforcement Executive Committee, and as a Board Member of both the Federal Bar Council and Office of the Appellate Defender. Lisa is also a consistent contributor to thought leadership within the industry. She is a regular contributor to The Insider Blog on Forbes, where she covers white-collar issues in the evolving regulatory landscape. She is frequently invited to speak as a subject matter expert on high-level legal topics, including internal investigations, white collar enforcement, and attorney mentoring, and has recently participated in panels for the Practising Law Institute (PLI), Global Investigations Review (GIR) Women in Investigations, and the New York City Bar Association (NYCBA).
Lisa has been recognized by numerous publications and directories. She is highly ranked by Chambers USA in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, highlighting her standing as a trusted and experienced advocate in high-stakes federal matters. Lisa is also ranked by Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star (White Collar Crime),” and has been included in the publication’s list of “Top 250 Women in Litigation.”