Mylan L. Denerstein

Mylan L. Denerstein is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  Ms. Denerstein is Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Public Policy Practice Group and a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations, Securities Litigation, Appellate and Crisis Management Practice Groups.  Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ms. Denerstein served as Counsel to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.  In this role she acted as the Governor’s chief counsel and principal legal advisor.

Ms. Denerstein handles a broad range of complex litigation, as well as white collar, legislative and investigation matters.  She represents diverse companies confronted with a wide range of legal issues involving local, state and federal government, from New York City Sanitation Department, New York Attorney’s General’s Office, New York State Department of Financial Services, New York State Governor’s Office, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, among others.

From 2007 to 2010 during the administration of then-Attorney General Cuomo, she served as the Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice and managed approximately 100 attorneys statewide working in the areas of charities, civil rights, environmental protection, health care, labor and tobacco companies.

From 2003 to 2007, she served as Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs for the New York City Fire Department where she was the highest ranking woman and African-American.  From 1996 to 2003, Mylan served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, first as Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecuting complex securities, insurance fraud, money laundering and organized crime cases, and then as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, where she assisted in managing over 100 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

Ms. Denerstein was named as one of New York Law Journal’s 2016 “Top Women in Law.”  Ms. Denerstein received The Work & Family Legal Center’s Distinguished Public Service Award in May 2016 from A Better Balance for her work on the Women’s Equality Act; was The Association of Black Women Attorneys’ Professional Achievement Honoree in April 2015; and was the Citizens Union of the City of New York’s Public Service Award Honoree in October 2015 for her leadership helping to enhance the vitality of New York City.

Ms. Denerstein is a member of the Association of Black Women Attorneys, New York City Bar Association, National Bar Association, New York State Bar Associate, and Metropolitan Black Bar Association.  She serves on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Greater New York, Sanctuary for Families and Vera Institute for Justice.

Ms. Denerstein graduated in 1993 from Columbia Law School, where she was named a Charles Evans Hughes Fellow for outstanding commitment to public service and was a recipient of the Jane Marks Murphy Prize for exceptional proficiency and advocacy in clinics.