Who is Judith Mogul? Andrew Cuomo's lawyer to resign after sexual misconduct allegation
Gov Andrew Cuomo's top attorney and a key figure in the inquiry into his alleged sexual misconduct is set to resign next week, as per the latest reports.
The news of attorney Special Counsel Judith Mogul comes just two weeks after Cuomo was allegedly interrogated by the state’s top lawyer about widespread accusations of sexual harassment that started to be publicized late last year. One of the Democrat’s accusers, former aide Charlotte Bennett, 26, stated that she complained to Mogul and then-chief of staff Jill DesRosiers last summer about Cuomo's harassment but was told by officials that there was no need to investigate because the governor’s conduct never got past the “grooming” stage. Bennett said that Cuomo tasked her with “finding” the 63-year-old a girlfriend, and asking her if she had sex with older men, charges the governor dismissed. Bennett stated that she was shifted to another position in the Capitol building after she complained to Mogul and DesRosiers about the alleged harassment.
READ MORE
Who is Judith Mogul?
Mogul, whose office is in New York, is a civil litigator who handles complex commercial litigation for individual and corporate clients in state and federal court. She has extensive experience aiding individuals in internal investigations, securities class actions and related regulatory proceedings. She also regularly represents individuals and companies in a broad variety of commercial matters involving employment, partnership, contract, unfair competition, insurance and other disputes.
Mogul has been recognized by The Legal 500 in Securities: Shareholder Litigation and in White Collar Criminal Defense (2013, 2012) and is co-author of the treatise Civil Practice in the Southern District of New York, 2d. Ed. (Thomson West 2011), as well as a regular column on federal civil practice in the Southern District of New York for the New York Law Journal. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Access to Justice, a non-partisan law and policy organization committed to achieving reform on behalf of vulnerable people in the civil and criminal justice systems.
Bennett's lawyer, Debra Katz, has accused Mogul of mistreating the situation, writing in a March letter to the AG that the Executive Chamber failed to “adequately address Ms Bennett’s allegations” and claimed that “the chief of staff and special counsel exploited Charlotte’s fear and manipulated her.”
A senior advisor has said that Mogul’s exit was in the works for more than a year, and she will be replaced by the newly appointed Special Counsel for Public Integrity Victor Olds. Ten other women have publicly accused Cuomo of misconduct, and the alleged sexual harassment is being investigated by State Attorney General Letitia James and the State Assembly, which is conducting a wide-ranging impeachment inquiry.