Paul Mauro

Paul Mauro focuses his legal practice on internal and external investigations, anti-piracy enforcement, electronic surveillance, mass data collection, and the lawful use of new and emerging technologies. He also advises on AML/KYC policies, investigations, and enforcement defense, as well as compliance and governance issues across a wide range of laws and disciplines.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Mauro served as the Commanding Officer of the New York City Police Department’s Legal Bureau and the Executive Officer of the Intelligence Operations and Analysis Bureau. In those roles, he was responsible for legal issues involving intelligence collection and analysis, mass data usage, facial recognition technologies, undercover operations and covert surveillance, and FOIL, eDiscovery, and other requests for electronic information from the NYPD. As part of his leadership roles, he also supervised the Department’s Privacy Officer and the Body-Worn Camera Program. Within the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau, Mr. Mauro had tenures as the Commanding Officer of both the analytic and operational sides of the Department’s counter-terrorism efforts. He was also regularly called upon to collaborate with numerous foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies to bring complex joint investigations and prosecutions. Cases initiated under Mr. Mauro’s command included the first successful use of New York State’s counter terrorism statutes, as well as enterprise corruption, RICO, and terrorist-related money laundering investigations. These high profile investigations — many international in scope — regularly involved close cooperation with state, federal, and foreign prosecutors as well as the private sector. In Mr. Mauro’s 26-year career with the NYPD he also served in numerous other roles including deployment to Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers.

Mr. Mauro has spoken frequently on law enforcement, data collection, and surveillance and intelligence issues to a wide range of audiences including at the United Nations, the German National Police College, the International Chiefs of Police convention, the U.S. Army European Command, and the Supreme Court of Malaysia. He has testified to the U.S. Congress and briefed to the National Counterterrorism Center, DOJ, CIA, DHS, Interpol, Europol, and numerous other foreign and domestic entities. Mr. Mauro is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a graduate of both Fordham Law School, from which he received a J.D. degree, and the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, from which he received a Masters of Public Administration.

His writings on legal and law enforcement matters have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Washington Times, and other national publications. In 2026 he was the recipient of the Excellence In Media Award from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation. He writes regularly at https://www.opsdesk.org/.

 

EDUCATION

  • Fordham Law School, JD
  • Harvard University, MA

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • Southern District of New York
  • Eastern District of New York