“I am the 80th corporation counsel in the City of New York — to think that it took 80,” said Georgia Pestana, who broke that barrier this year, becoming the first woman and first Latina to serve as the city’s top lawyer.

As a daughter of Cuban immigrants, it’s an achievement she doesn’t take lightly.

“I’m very honored to be the first. I think that there are other glass ceilings to be broken,” said Pestana.

As corporation counsel, she heads the city’s Law Department, fighting the city’s legal battles and supervising a staff of over 1,000 attorneys on some 80,000 cases, which she didn’t envision when she started her career at the agency more than 30 years ago, right after graduating from NYU Law School.

“As a 25-year-old lawyer, you don’t really think, 'Oh I want to be in that big office up in the corner,'” remembered Pestana.

Appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, he called her an "outstanding legal thinker" and a "compassionate leader." She's needed those skills to navigate the pandemic.

"We have those 80,000 cases but currently we have a lot of cases that are arising out of the recovery, lots of policies that we’ve put into place as well as mandates by the health commissioner," said Pestana, describing the agency's current workload.  

As a self-described litigator, she says she’s ready for those legal battles having worked her way up through the Law Department, and is happy to make her family proud.  She's hoping others will follow through the doors she’s opened.

“Having me in this position gives people who may feel stuck some where the hope that they can break through or that change is also coming,” said Pestana.