Law/Policy
Ali Najmi, Esq
Chairman · NYC Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary
New York, NY
The election lawyer behind Mamdani’s rise, now chairing the committee that vets New York’s judges.
About
Ali Najmi has practiced civil rights and criminal defense law in New York for about fifteen years, and is best known for election and ballot access work on behalf of progressive and anti-establishment candidates. He met Zohran Mamdani in 2015, when Mamdani volunteered on his City Council campaign, and later served as his attorney and advisor through the Assembly and mayoral races. In January 2026 he was appointed chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, which vets candidates for the city bench. He holds a JD from CUNY School of Law.